Labour, Commonwealth lawyers flay Jonathan, NJC

Court adjourns suit against suspension till September 7

NBA wants judicial council reconstituted

AS the removal of Justice Ayo Isa Salami as the President of the Court of Appeal continued to dominate national issues, the Presidency yesterday broke its silence on the matter.

The Presidency said it was miffed at the reactions of some interested parties in the issue between Salami and the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the latter’s recommendation that the former Court of Appeal President be retired over his refusal to apologise to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu.

It said the attempt to drag the name of President Goodluck Jonathan into the whole issue smacked of politics and not a due diligence of the points at stake.

But organised Labour, members of the Bar under the platform of Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), and other interest groups, have insisted that Jonathan’s “hasty” removal of Salami from office was wrong.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) accused the Presidency and the NJC of abuse of judicial processes by suspending the appellate court’s boss from office.

The Commonwealth lawyers said the actions of the President and the NJC were destructive and unacceptable.

To the NBA, which restated its position on the matter, said the NJC as now constituted can no longer run a healthy judiciary and called for its reconstitution. It also pleaded for immediate pronouncement on the suit filed by Salami against his suspension by the government and the NJC.

Jonathan had last Sunday, in a statement signed by presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, “approved the appointment of Justice Dalhatu Adamu as President of the Court of Appeal in acting capacity.”

A source in the Presidency told The Guardian yesterday that Jonathan only acted to save the judiciary from anarchy and to fill a vacuum created by the suspension of Justice Salami in order not to leave the appellate court without leadership.

The President, the source noted, is constrained to intervene in the dispute in the third tier of government because of the concept of separation of powers.

The source lamented that the crisis put the President in a position where he had to be “extremely careful not to inflame the crisis and he acted rightly by providing a soft landing for Justice Salami while at the same time not ignoring the NJC.

“If the President had ignored the letter from the NJC, it would have been that he was ignoring the highest disciplinary body in the third arm of government. What the law requires him to do is to transmit the letter from the NJC to the Senate. But the Senate is on recess. There were high-level consultations on what to do - ignore the letter or take the middle ground of not tilting the balance in any way. But what was clear was that the judiciary was in a crisis with the absence of a functional President of the Court of Appeal. So, President Jonathan had to give a qualified acceptance of the letter from the NJC.

“If you had read the content of the Presidency’s response, you would have acknowledged that it was a qualified acceptance of a reality on the ground but without muddling it up. The President only approved the acting appointment of Justice Dalhatu Adamu to perform the functions of the office of the President of the Court of Appeal ‘pending when all issues relating to the office of the President of the Court of Appeal are resolved.’ This meant that Justice Isa Ayo Salami was to step aside until the matter is resolved.

“What did these critics want him to do? Nothing? To create a lacuna! Or go against a statutory body of the third arm of government? Following the principle of the separation of powers, there is nothing the President can do except what he has done, which is to make an interim appointment pending when the issues in the federal legislature are sorted out.”

According to the Presidency’s official, Jonathan had by his action helped Salami by not transmitting the NJC’s resolution to the Senate yet.

He urged the stakeholders in the judiciary to team up and cleanse the sector, declaring that outsiders cannot do it for them.

The official also faulted the position of the NBA on the crisis.

He said: “Sometimes, the NBA, by its own action, seems to be descending to the level of street rioters. Only the judiciary can clean up the judiciary. Not the President or any other person. Those blaming President Jonathan for opting for the position of a statesman on this issue should tell Nigerians what they want - for him to take side at the detriment of the nation’s judiciary. He has only acted to ensure there is no vacuum.”

At the Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday, Salami’s attempt to argue an application seeking to nullify the suspension slammed on him by the appointment of Justice Adamu as his successor in acting capacity was rejected.

When the suit challenging the competence of the probe panel setup by NJC, which indicted Salami for perjury and misconduct, was called up, his counsel, Chief Akinlolu Olujimi (SAN) sought to argue the said application, but Aliyu Saiki, holding the brief of Lawal Rabana (SAN) counsel to NJC, objected to it.

Justice Donatus Okorowo, who held the matter, explained that his time as a vacation judge would lapse by the end of the month after which another judge will take over on September 5, 2011.

He therefore adjourned the matter till September 7 for mention to enable Salami serve the processes on all parties.

Olujimi had told the court that although he had two earlier applications filed on August 15 pending before the court; one being a motion ex-parte for interim orders and the second, a motion on notice for interlocutory injunction, he has filed a third application.

Responding, Saiki said he needed an adjournment to study the matter and file necessary papers in response to Salami’s.

Olujimi chipped in, saying: “My lord, we had sought to serve the NJC the processes for all other defendants since they were appointed by the Council but they declined. We will therefore apply for leave for an order of substituted service to allow us paste the processes for them at the NJC.”

Justice Okorowo declined to hear the third application or the oral application for substituted service. Instead, he asked Olujimi to file a formal application.

In a statement titled: “Travails of Justice Ayo Salami: Let justice prevail,” by NLC President, Abdulwahed Omar, in Abuja yesterday, the Nigerian workers, leader said the disagreement which had snowballed into a formidable threat to the impartial nature of judiciary ought to be nipped in the bud before now.

Omar said the needless disagreement, which would have been resolved through “fairness, transparency and due process,” had exposed the judiciary to unwarranted attention, thus, “undermining the sanctity of the justice system and threatening the efficacy of our democratic system.”

The Congress submitted that the suspension of Salami by Jonathan on the recommendation of NJC had helped increase the complexity of the crisis, adding that the NJC had rather chosen to become a clog in the wheel of justice system in Nigeria instead of being an umpire, promoting an impartial judicial system.

The Omar-led Congress explained that it was yet to understand the reasons President Jonathan acted swiftly on the recommendations of the NJC by appointing an Acting President for the court.

It said: “More astounding has been the speed at accepting the suspension of Mr. Salami by President Jonathan and appointing an Acting President of the Court of Appeal despite the case being in court.

“We are of the view that steps taken by the NJC in the storm between the Chief Justice and the President of the Court of Appeal leave much to be desired. Its activities have not only been questionable, but have impertinently brought the judiciary to ridicule, and being the bastion of justice in the land, let the nation down.”
The Commonwealth lawyers’ body supported the NBA’s decision to boycott the activities of the NJC until justice prevailed.

President of the association, Mrs. Boma Ozobia, said in Port Harcourt yesterday that the action of the NJC was “unacceptable and destructive.”

NBA President, Joseph Bodunrin Daudu (SAN) told journalists yesterday at the Port Harcourt High Court complex where Lawyers in the Media (LIM) held their session that the association would remain resolute and always push for adherence to the rule of law and due process.

The NBA boss who stated that the last had not been heard of the Salami saga, reiterated the need for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution and the composition of the NJC to improve on the quality of justice delivery.

He said it would help the government if it. According to him, Nigerians are clearly insisting that there is something

fundamentally wrong with the NJC’s decision.

“The NBA will not be a party of a process that is flawed and that is why we have withdrawn from the NJC,” Daudu said.

He explained that the NBA is desirous of a process of selection of credible judges and judicial officers who are appointed solely by the Chief Justice of Nigeria into the NJC. According to him, the inclusion of men of proven integrity into council would impact positively on justice administration in the country.

The Chairman of Silverbird Communications, Mr. Ben

Murray-Bruce, who delivered the keynote address on Broadcast media and substance of democracy, urged the media to go after members of the political class behind groups such as the Boko Haram and militants in the Niger Delta.

The Dean, Faculty of Law, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Mrs. Olubumi Akaakar, demanded that laws regulating the media in Nigeria should be of international standard.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, advised LIM to continue to promote good governance in the country.

Meanwhile, a group, Access to Justice (AJ) has asked the NJC to declare null and void, its decision to suspend Salami.

In a petition signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Joseph Otteh, the group urged NJC to convene an emergency meeting to review the decision to safeguard the rule of law.

The Edo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) yesterday condemned the feud that led to the suspension of Salami.

In a statement signed by the association’s chairman, Philip Ugbodaga, Secretary, Emmaunel Ighodaro and the Public Relations Officer, Kennedy Alohan, the NMA also decried the rush with which Jonathan implemented the recommendations of the NJC. The association urged well-meaning Nigerians to intervene in the crisis to save the nation’s judiciary.

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