Date Published: 08/02/11

NJC Report: Ekiti group wants all cases handled by Salami reviewed

Consequent upon the indictment of the embattled president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami for perjury for lying on oath against the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, over the Sokoto State governorship appeal, as well as for unethical relationship with chieftains of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) during the determination of Osun and Ekiti states governorship appeals, a Non Governmental Organisation in Ekiti State, the Ekiti Justice Group (EJG) has called for a review of all cases he (Salami) handled in the last five years.

Rising from its meeting in Ado-Ekiti today, the group said in a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Dr. Tunji Oluwasanmi that; "a judge who is a liar could not have administered justice without bias."

Dr Oluwasanmi posited that it would be in the interest of justice and credibility of the justice system in Nigeria for Justice Salami's judicial pronouncements to be queried because "if he could lie on oath against the number one judicial officer in the country, he could as well have been lying all his life, and this no doubt makes his past judgments doubtful."

"Our position on this matter is that it goes beyond Sokoto, Osun and Ekiti governorship matters. Rather, it touches the fundamentals of Justice Salami's ability to dispense justice with honesty and sincerity.

"The matter goes beyond any political party or individual. It is about how long Justice Salami has been lying even in the course of adjudicating on matters as a judge. It is also about how long he has been sitting in judgment over cases involving people with whom he had relationship.

"Therefore, it will be in the interest of justice and the nation's judiciary that people, whose cases Justice Salami handled at least, in the last five years begin to approach the courts for a second look at the judgments delivered against them," EJG said.

While berating rights activists in the country for keeping silent on the NJC probe matter, EJG said; "Those who call themselves activists in this country have further demonstrated that they are for bread and butter.

"That they have remained silent on a matter as important as this shows that they are criminally partisan and only speak out when the interest of their paymaster is threatened."