•Ex-Appeal Court chief accuses NJC of selling out to Executive

Retired President of the Court of Appeal Justice Isa Ayo Salami spoke yesterday of his travails during his suspension, saying his colleagues and friends betrayed him.

Justice Salami, who likened his case to that of the biblical Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, faulted the role the National Judicial Council (NJC) played in the events leading to his suspension.

He claimed that the NJC, by its conduct, sold out to the Executive and failed in its duties and functions.

Justice Salami argued that not only was the NJC wrong in suspending him, having lacked the constitutional powers to so act, it also acted wrongly when it asked President Goodluck Jonathan to suspend him.

Justice Salami, who retired on October 15 as the court's fifth president, spoke during a valedictory court session held in his honour by the court.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke (SAN), was absent at the event. He sent no representative.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar, former CJN Justice Mohammed Uwais, Justice Mahmood Mohammed of the Supreme Court and the President of the National Industrial Court (NIC), Justice Babatunde Adejumo, were among those at the event.

Justice Salami, decked in the ceremonial gown of Justices, presided over proceedings. He sat on the seat of the court's President he occupied until August 18, 2011 when he was suspended by the President.

Justice Salami wondered why the NJC, created by the Constitution to protect judicial officers (judges), abandoned its responsibilities and sold out in his case.

As he spoke, there was pin-drop-silence in the spacious courtroom. Everyone listened with rapt attention..

"The last three years of my career were dogged by travails which are not dissimilar to the fate of Joseph in the book of Genesis in the Bible.

"As his brothers conspired to destroy him by throwing him into a well and selling him into slavery, my learned brothers and friends in the legal profession planned and executed evil against me.

"The National Judicial Council (NJC) created by the Constitution to protect me, nay any judicial officer, was on the vanguard of my travails. The NJC failed in its duties and thereby surrendered its functions to the Executive arm of government, thus, ingratiating itself to the Executive

"At the inauguration of the most recent batch of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar, was on record as advising the Executive and Legislative arms of government that the NJC is the final authority in matters concerning judicial officers.

"This, to my mind, is superfluous, as all the powers needed by the NJC is enshrined in the Constitution. It is, therefore, left to the NJC to perform its functions or duties in accordance with the Constitution.

"For instance, the NJC having cleared me of any wrongdoing, following the recommendations of Justice Aloma Mukhtar's committee, ought to have recalled me to office without asking the President to exercise the power that he does not possess, on the flimsy excuse that it had earlier referred the matter to him.

"In truth, as a matter of courtesy, all it needed to do was to write the President that in view of its recent decision, this matter was now outside his purview. After so informing him, NJC would be free to take the necessary step to implement its decision.

"The position in which NJC has found itself is similar to that of the proverbial cock that betrayed itself to the fox that what was on his head was not fire and encouraged the fox to touch it.

"The fox, having satisfied itself that truly it was not fire, has since been hunting cocks to make menu of them.

"Also, when the report of the committee the NJC set up to make recommendation on Umaru Abdullahi's report was submitted to it for ratification, neither the CJN nor the next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court was present at the meeting.

"Justice Moses A. Bello, who was neither the CJN nor the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, took it upon himself to preside at the meeting, contrary to the express provisions of sub-paragraph (a) and (b) of paragraph 20 of the Third Schedule of the Constitution."

Justice Salami noted that by the provision of those provisions, "no other members of the NJC, including statutory members, could be Chairman.

He argued that by claiming to be Acting Chairman of NJC in the two letters he (Justice Bello) wrote to him, dated August 9 and 18 2011, he (Justice Bello OFR) was an impostor, because he was neither a Justice of the Supreme Court, next most senior Justice of the court nor the CJN.

"This is the levity with which the NJC treats matters of national importance. Clearly, Justice Bello has not only behaved irresponsibly, but also recklessly."

Justice Salami noted that the meeting at which Justice Bello presided and took the far reaching decision to suspend him took place when his application for an order restraining the NJC from deliberating on his case was pending before the Federal High Court.

He argued that the consequence of Justice Bello's conduct is that both meetings he presided over and the decision taken "are null and void.

"It is this illegal decision that the NJC had been relying upon to keep me out of office from August 18, 2011."

He faulted his suspension on the ground that the NJC lacked the powers to suspend him under the Constitution.

Noting that the NJC "adopted all tricks, including unconstitutional means, to keep me out of office", Justice Salami accused former CJN Justice Dahiru Musdapher of delaying in acting on the outcome of a committee he set up to review his (Justice Salami's) case.

The former PCA regretted that NJC, a body set up to protect judicial officers, "dealt so cruelly with me".

"I have no regret whatsoever over all that I did, having acted accoding to the dictate of my conscience and in the fear of Almighty God.

"I swore to uphold the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to do justice to all manner of people without fear or favour; God has helped me so to do.

"God helped me to overcome the travails of the last three years and I am grateful to Him and all those who have stood by me. However, it is not only about me, but about other innocent judges who may feel threatened and intimidated about upholding justice as a result of my maltreatment," he said.

Justice Salami urged judges to adhere strictly to their oaths of office, warning that departure from such "desecrates the temple of justice and brings untold hardship to the common man."

Earlier, the Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, praised Justice Salami for his contributions to the successes recorded by the court.

She described him as a renowned jurist, who is "down to earth, consummate thinker, forthright Nigerian, blunt and straight forward. He was a stickler for the full operation of the rule of law.

"He has shown this in his writings and judgments. He has greatly contributed to the growth and development of law and jurisprudence in this country," Justice Bulkachuwa said.

President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Okey Wali (SAN) described Justice Salami, as a courageous, thorough and methodical judicial officer.

Wali, who was represented by Sunday Ameh (SAN), urged the Bar and the Bench to reject attempts to compromise the independence of the Judiciary.

The NBA President called for adequate funding of the Judiciary to function optimally.

Wali urged the National Assembly to expedite action in the passage of pending Bills relating to the reform of the judicial sector.