NJC fails to reinstate Salami

By Soni Daniel &   Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA — The National Judicial Council, NJC, yesterday, failed to take a definite decision on the reinstatement of the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami.

The NJC, it was learnt, reasoned that taking any action on Salami would be prejudicial, as he had cases pending in the High Court and Court of Appeal.

A source at the meeting said, however, that Salami might be asked to withdraw the cases as a precondition for the council to look into his matter.

According to the source, the NJC may summon an emergency meeting to look into the PCA case, once his cases were withdrawn from the courts.

It was widely believed that the NJC would use its two-day meeting in Abuja, which started on Wednesday to recall Salami, who was suspended since August 2011, because of the strong arguments the council put up in court that the Presidency does not have any role to play in the recall of the PCA.

It was, however, learnt that the members were divided when the matter was brought up for discussion. While some of the members said it was necessary to take a decisive action on the matter, others opined that it would amount to contempt of court to take any action during the pendency of the cases instituted by the applicant.

The source further revealed that though the issue of Justice Salami was not originally slated for deliberation in the course of the meeting, nevertheless, the issue dominated their discourse immediately it was introduced, yesterday.

He said though the council under the leadership of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, ab-initio expressed intentions to recall the suspended PCA, the idea met stiff opposition from members of the council.

Vanguard gathered that in-view of the sharp division among its members on the issue of recalling the PCA despite the pending court cases, it was subsequently agreed that status-quo be maintained on the matter.

It will be recalled that the immediate past CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, earlier wrote President Jonathan, urging him to go ahead and recall the suspended PCA.

His decision was based on the report of a committee that was headed by the present CJN, Justice Muhktar, which recommended that Salami should be allowed to return to office.

Meanwhile, President Jonathan, through the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, on May 22, 2012, adduced reasons why the PCA could not be reinstated now.

The AGF had maintained that doing so would amount to sub-judice, adding that “no responsible government will overreach the powers of the court; this government is determined to do the right thing.”

Meantime, following the retirement of the former CJN, Justice Musdapher, the NJC under Justice Muhktar, made a U-turn, insisting that it has the exclusive constitutional powers to reinstate Salami back to his position, “without recourse of any sort to the President.”

In a written address it filed in support of a suit before the Federal High Court Abuja, NJC, further argued that by virtue of section 238(5) of the 1999 Constitution, Jonathan, lacked the powers to reappoint Justice Adamu as Acting PCA after the expiration of three months from the day Salami was ousted from office, stressing that the action amounted to an act of illegality since such recommendation never emanated from the Council as required by the law.

According to NJC, “we submit that the exercise of disciplinary power and recall of a suspended Justice of the Court of Appeal is exclusively vested in the NJC by the constitution.

“By virtue of the combined provisions of sections 153, 158(1) of the constitution, and the NJC’s power to exercise disciplinary control over judicial officers contained in paragraph 21(1) of the part 1, third schedule of the constitution, the council is clothe with the power to suspend and recall the 4th Defendant (Salami) without any recourse to the president (the 1st Defendant).

“Section 158(1) of the constitution provides that “in exercising its power to make appointment or to exercise disciplinary control over persons…the NJC…, shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other authority or persons.

“The only instances the 3rd Defendant exercises its powers in conjunction with the President is in appointment and removal of judicial officers and do not extend to the 3rd Defendant’s disciplinary control over the judicial officers and reinstatement/ recalling of suspended judicial officers; these, we submit, are residual powers exercisable by the 3rd Defendant exclusively.

“My Lord, we therefore submit that it is within the constitutionally vested powers of the 3rd Defendant to recall/ reinstate the 4th Defendant as the President of the Court. We urge my lord to so hold and resolve this issue as argued in the plaintiffs’ favour.”