Date Published: 02/04/11
Evil Plans by the Top Echelons of the Nigerian Judiciary to corrupt the court
The Nigerian judiciary is under siege once again and if care is not taken this may yet be the end of an institution that has survived several onslaughts from political goons. As the general elections approach politicians acting in conjunction with the top echelons of the judiciary are becoming more desperate and brazen in their conduct and utterances and have devised devious means of pocketing the Judiciary before the next round of elections. As a matter of fact, no stone is being left unturned to ensure adequate cover for their mischievous plans to gain political power at all costs irrespective of the wishes of the electorate. Their shenanigans are made more manifest by the day. They are in active collaboration with the top members of the judiciary and have orchestrated plans to cover up their misfortunes in the event that they are unceremoniously booted out of office or to provide judicial cover for stolen mandates after the general elections in April.
To achieve this feat, a carefully scripted plot has been hatched by the PDP and its hordes of ingenious schemers i.e. desperate and corrupt judicial officers to eliminate judicial officers of high moral standard and integrity who may stand in the way of election riggers. Judges who are deemed to be too upright and of unshakable integrity and character, are being marked for elevation to higher courts, so as to pave the way for the execution of ulterior motives . In view of the important role played by the President of the Court of Appeal in the setting up of electoral tribunals, and the constitution of panel of justices to hear electoral appeals, the PDP and its schemers in collaboration with some members of the top echelons of the judiciary have targeted the President of the Court of Appeal for elevation to the Supreme Court with a view of getting him out of that position.
The rationale for this is because the present occupant of the office of the President of the Court of Appeal, Honourable Justice Ayo Salami is known to be a man of unshakable uprightness, unimpeachable integrity and impeccable character. Those who know the eminent jurist can attest to the fact that he is loathe to corruption and corrupt tendencies. He is not one to give in to the demands of corrupt politicians to manipulate electoral panels to deliver questionable verdicts in favour of them or their cronies. It is a known fact that he has on several occasions’ resisted moves from both within and outside the judiciary to manipulate electoral panels and tribunals to enter verdicts in favour of corrupt politicians who were adjudged to have rigged the elections that brought them into office.
He has therefore become a clear target for elimination by these evil plotters who see him as a major obstacle to the actualization of their plans to rig the forthcoming general elections. Because he is constitutionally empowered to constitute electoral tribunals and also constitute the members of the Presidential Election Panel of the Court of Appeal as well as the appeal panels for the hearing of legislative and Governorship election appeals. By his pedigree, he is undoubtedly well positioned to thwart the evil machinations of these corrupt politicians in power. So the strategy of these politicians acting in collaboration with the top echelons of the judiciary is to nominate him for elevation to the Supreme Court bench so that they can nominate a crony to do their evil bidding and get him to act in accordance with their whims.
It has never happened in the history of the Nigerian Judiciary that the President of the Court of Appeal will be elevated to become a Justice of the Supreme Court. This is absurd because as President of the Court of Appeal, he ranks equal with the Justices of the Supreme Court bench (except the Chief Justice of Nigeria) and therefore such ‘elevation’ is pointless, unnecessary and is in effect a demotion because it robs him of the enormous powers he wields as the President of the penultimate Court in Nigeria. This elevation to the Supreme Court is meant to pave the way for a more amenable Justice to occupy the position of the President of the Court of Appeal. No Court of Appeal President has ever been elevated to the Supreme Court.
It is pertinent to note that the region from which Justice Salami comes from [North Central Region] presently has two representatives at the Supreme Court i.e. Justice Suleiman Galadima [Plateau State] and Justice Fabiyi [Kogi State]. Where lies the need for the appointment of an extra representative? If at all there is the need for the appointment of an extra representative, the next in line to Justice Salami [Justice Adamu] is from Niger State and is aptly positioned to fill the extra slot for the North Central Region. Why must it be Justice Salami that has been pencilled down for elevation? Could it be a punishment for his known stance against corrupt powers and principalities? The answer is quiet apparent and your guess is as good as ours.
From the constitutional point of view, the 1999 Constitution provides for the appointment of a person as a Justice of the Supreme Court. Section 231 (3) thereof provides that a person shall not be qualified to hold the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court unless he is qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for a period not less than fifteen years.
Paragraph 21 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution empowers the National Judicial Council (NJC) to recommend to the President a person for appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court from among the list of persons submitted to it by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC). Pursuant to this power, the FJSC which is headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria had a meeting on Tuesday, 1st of February 2011 in Abuja where the only agenda of the meeting was the plan to recommend Justice Salami’s appointment to the apex court.
This decision which did not go down with some of the members of the FJSC was said to have been hatched by some powerful forces at the highest echelon of power that view Salami as uncompromising and feel threatened by his continuous stay in the office of the President of the Court of Appeal in the post-2011 general elections era. According to a source close to the meeting-
“I can confirm to you that some of the members of the FJSC are not comfortable with the decision. This is because the elevation is unsolicited and the timing of the appointment is questionable. Besides, there is no vacancy in the Supreme Court from the North Central Zone from where Justice Salami comes from. The decision is political and in anticipation of post-election disputes arising from the April polls. I can also inform you that Justice Salami never indicated interest in going to the Supreme Court and neither filled any form to that effect. You know the practise is that the President of the Court of Appeal will retire from that position. There is no precedent for this appointment”
This revealing interview with an insider source close to the meeting shows the internal scheming to ease out an eminent jurist from a position where he is felt to be a threat to the electoral fortunes of some highly placed politicians.
Apart from the improper timing of the attempted ‘elevation’ of Justice Salami and its novelty, it is curious in view of the fact that appointments to the Supreme Court bench are usually given federal character spread such that a justice from the Court of Appeal will only be considered for elevation to the Supreme Court bench where there is vacancy in the bench from the particular zone of the country where he/she hails from. Justice Salami hails from Kwara State in the North central Zone of the country from where another Justice of the Court of Appeal was recently elevated.
As such there is no vacancy in the slot of the North Central Zone in the Supreme Court bench. The attempt therefore to dubiously ‘elevate’ him to the Supreme Court bench clearly reveals the desperation of the powerful forces involved in this despicable act to get rid of this uncompromising jurist. It is also the usual practise for a nominee for elevation to the Apex Court to indicate interest in the position or fill a form to that effect. Neither of these was done by Justice Salami, yet the evil plotters in their desperation have insisted on ‘elevating’ him to the Supreme Court bench to ease him off the prestigious position he currently occupies since he is viewed as a stumbling block in their dubious plans owing to his uncompromising stand on issues of corruption and influencing of the judiciary.
When will all these end? When will the politicians learn to insulate the judiciary from their evil machinations to remain in power against the wishes of the populace? The judiciary is the last hope of the common man. If this last bastion of hope for the citizens is corrupted, where else will the citizens run to? We are all witnesses to the brave attempt of the judiciary to rescue the stolen mandate of several fraudulent Governors who forced themselves into office against the wishes of the electorate. If the judiciary is allowed to be scandalized then that will spell doom for our nation.
The law is crystal clear on the point that a judicial officer who is appointed or elevated to a higher bench has the liberty to either accept or decline the appointment or elevation to the higher bench. It has been held in this respect [Coram Ayoola, Kalgo & Pat Acholonu] by the Court as far back as 1995 in the case of CASTRO OIL NIGERIA LIMITED & ANOR VS. SADIQ MOTORS LIMITED & ANOR (UNREPORTED, APPEAL NO CA/L/ 80M/91 DELIVERED ON THE 26TH DAY OF APRIL, 1995) that a judicial officer elevated to a higher bench has the liberty to accept or reject the appointment to the higher bench. He signifies his acceptance by taking and subscribing to the oath of office for judicial officers. The Honourable Justice Pats Acholonu J.C.A (as he then was, later Justice of the Supreme Court now of blessed memory) made the point succinctly when he said:
“It is inconceivable to presume, I make bold to say, that one who has been appointed to a higher office has no say in accepting the position. It is elementary to state that such appointee does have the liberty to accept or reject the appointment and he accepts this, I think by taking the Oath of office”
Buttressing the decision of his learned brother, The Honourable Justice Umaru Kalgo, J.C.A as he then was, later Justice of the Supreme Court now retired) in his concurring judgment opined at pages 1-2 as follows:
“I also agree that the question of appointment, like employment is contractual with offer and acceptance involved. In this case, although Agoro J. (as he then was) was then already employed by the Lagos State Government, he was offered employment in the Federal Government by the appointment and that he could accept or reject the offer. In this case, the letter of the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria was the offer, and the judges acceptance was in my view, his agreement to take the oath of office and the Judicial oat by virtue of S254(1) of 1979 Constitution”
This decision was interpreting Section 254 of the 1979 Constitution (now Section 290 of the 1999 Constitution) relating to appointment of a judicial officer and commencement of duties.
The decision of the court in this case was given by eminent jurists who were subsequently elevated to the Supreme Court bench and who put in several years of meritorious service at the apex court. This decision is about the only known decision on this point as there has never been a contrary or higher decision on this point from the Supreme Court neither has same been over ruled. It is therefore beyond doubt that Honourable Justice Salami is entitled to reject his nomination to the Supreme Court bench and we commend this decision to all lovers of the judiciary. In the words of Ayoola JCA (as he then was, now JSC Rtd):
“Unless the procedure of appointment of Judges is streamlined, the judicial system will continue to be embarrassed by such cases as this. When the appointing body makes an appointment the person concerned should be promptly notified of the effective date of his appointment and his consent obtained to both the fact of his appointment and the effective date of such”
We are all witnesses to the recent events in Egypt and Tunisia whose people turned against their leaders having been subjected to years of oppression by those whose sole ambition is to perpetually subject the will of the populace to theirs.
Nigeria should not be allowed to fall into such descent as the effects will be too grave. We therefore as a matter of extreme urgency and concern urge the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces – Dr. Jonathan Ebele Azikiwe Goodluck [GCFR] to immediately call to order the dangerous schemes the powers that be in the Nigerian Judiciary. Their schemes are motivated by selfish and parochial interest. We are genuinely apprehensive of the fact that sooner than later the entire gamut of the Nigerian judiciary will be subjected to public odium and ridicule of the highest order the consequent effect of which may far supersede what is presently being witnessed in some African countries.
If Nigeria is allowed to disintegrate, one wonders the moral platform on which we would stand to sermonize about good governance and democracy to our brother African countries and the world at large.
A word is enough for the wise!!!
ALLIANCE FOR A BETTER JUDICIARY (ABJ)
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