By IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI, Abuja

It is precisely 6months and  two weeks today, since the day the National Judicial Council, NJC, suspended the Court of Appeal President, Justice Isa Ayo Salami. The decision was taken after an emergency session of the council which held on August 18, 2011.

Sequel to a stormy session it held on August 10, the NJC had handed the embattled PCA, seven days to tender a written apology to the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu and the entire council, for allegedly lying on oath before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, adding that two separate panels it constituted to investigate unusual impasse that pervaded the top echelon of the judiciary, as it were, found him guilty of “judicial misconduct”.

In a statement signed by its Director of Administration, Mr. E.I. Odukwu, the council, maintained that: “Pursuant to the powers conferred on the National Judicial Council in the Constitution of the Nigeria, 1999 as amended, Hon. Justice Isa Ayo Salami, OFR, President of the Court of Appeal has been suspended from office with effect from today 18th August, 2011.

Establishing the complaint
It said: “having therefore established that the allegation/complaint by the President, Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Isa Ayo Salami, OFR, against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, GCON regarding the Sokoto Gubernatorial Election Appeal was false. Council decided that it is misconduct contrary to Rule 1(1) of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Thus Council further decided as follows, that, (1) the Hon. President of the Court of Appeal should be warned for such unethical conduct which eroded the public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the Judiciary.”

Nevertheless, six months after Justice Salami was relieved of  the responsibilities of his office  and same given to the next most senior judicial officer at the appellate court level, Justice Dalhatu Adamu, the choky dust of legal controversy that is trailing his ouster, has refused to settle.

Ironically, it was sequel to the recommendation of the NJC, that President Goodluck Jonathan, on August 21, 2011, appointed Justice Adamu to take over from Salami as an acting PCA, yet, the same NJC while insisting that it is only the National Industrial Court, NIC, that has the requisite powers to quash the suspension, has on the other hand, urged President Jonathan to re-instate the ostracized PCA  to office.

The recommendation was reportedly made to the President by the sitting CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, who is equally a party in a pending suit before the Federal High Court.

The move was okayed by a 29-man judicial reform committee headed by a retired CJN, Justice Mohammed Uwais, which upon the completion of a holistic appraisal of the performance of the justice sector vis-a-vis- its challenges, recommended the re-instatement of Justice Salami as part of the panacea for peace and cohesion in the judiciary.

Meanwhile, both the Uwais Panel and the CJN who is the chairman of NJC will need more than a committee to convince the former governor of Ekiti state, Chief Segun Oni on why Justice Salami should not be prosecuted for perjury.

...Justice Salami

In the wake of the shameful feud that ensued between Salami and Katsina-Alu following alleged  hanky-panky at the top hierarchy of the judiciary over the Sokoto state governorship petition dispute, Oni had petitioned the NJC, alleging that it was Justice Salami that masterminded his sack from office through the election petition tribunal.

Sensing that the PCA could be on his way back from the ‘judicial Siberia’ where he  has been  confined since August, Oni has asked an Abuja High Court in Bwari to issue an order of mandamus to compel the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, to file perjury charge against Justice Salami.

In an ex-parte application he entered before the high court on January 26, the former governor prayed the  Court to in the alternative, order the AGF to issue him a FIAT to initiate perjury case against the PCA “for giving false evidence contrary to Sections 156, 157 and 158 of the Penal Code Act, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory.”

While granting Oni leave to seek the reliefs, Presiding Justice Peter Affen on February 14, ordered that the AGF be served with the relevant court processes within 14 days, even as he adjourned the matter till March 8 for hearing. This is even as a Federal High court under Justice  Donatus Okorowo, has slated March 14 to hear two conflicting applications that were filed before it by both the NJC and Justice Salami.

Whereas the NJC is asking the court to hands-off the suit for the NIC to assume jurisdiction, the plaintiff, Salami, on the other hand, is equally urging the court to hands-off the suit for the Abuja Division of the Appeal Court where he once held sway, to determine the legality of his suspension.

Preliminary objection
In a preliminary objection it filed through its counsel, Dr Mike Ozekhome, SAN, the NJC contended that “this matter is relating to or is connected with labour, employment, trade unions, industrial relations and matters arising from work place, the conditions of service including health, safety and welfare of labour, employees, workers and matters incidental thereto, or connected therewith, over which only the National Industrial Court has exclusive jurisdiction by virtue of section 254c (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.”

It further argued that by virtue of the aforementioned section, “the NIC to the exclusion of every other court in Nigeria is vested with the exclusive jurisdiction to determine the claims of the Plaintiff/Respondent.”

The Council maintained that Justice Salami’s claims were caught by the exclusivity of the jurisdiction of the NIC, as same amount to claims against the decisions or recommendations of Hon Justice Abdullahi’s fact finding Administrative Body of Inquiry and the Review Panel headed by Justice Ibrahim Auta wherein the employment of the Plaintiff/ Respondent as the President of the Court of Appeal was put on suspension by the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Contending that the Federal High Court, no longer has jurisdiction to entertain the case.

Meanwhile, in another twist, Salami, in a motion on notice he filed pursuant to section 295(2) of the 1999 constitution, Justice Salami, urged the trial court to allow the appellate court to determine “whether having regard to the provisions of sections 6(6)(b), 36, 251(q) and (r) and 254 (c) (1) of the 1999 constitution as amended, it is the federal high court or the NIC that has jurisdiction to entertain this suit in which the plaintiff is seeking a determination of issues questioning the constitutionality and vires of the Investigative committee chaired by the 4th defendant and the Administrative panel chaired by the 9th defendant, both set up by the NJC in respect of petitions written against the plaintiff concerning the exercise of his judicial powers.

As well as, “whether having regard to section 238, 318 and paragraphs 13 and 21 of Part 1 of the 3rd Schedule to the 1999 constitution, the plaintiff, who was appointed to a judicial office as PCA under extant constitutional arrangements designed to secure the independence of the holder of a judicial office is subject of employer-employee relationship with the 1st defendant.”

Justice Donatus Okorowo has adjourned the matter till March 14 for hearing on both motions. Aside the court room ‘push me-I push you’ between the parties, a new angle has emerged in the controversy, with some judicial school of thought, questioning the continued stay in office of Justice Adamu as the Acting PCA.

This is in view of the fact that going by the provisions of section 238(5) of the 1999 constitution; the appointment of the acting PCA ought to have terminated in November last year.

The section provided that “except on the recommendation of the NJC, an appointment pursuant to the provisions of sub-section (4) of this section shall cease to have effect after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment, and the President shall not re-appoint a person whose tenure has elapsed.”

Elementary calculation from August 22 when Justice Adamu was sworn into office as the Ag PCA, till date, clearly shows that he has exceeded the six months benchmark that was  stipulated in the afore mentioned portion of the constitution.

As this politics of suspension ranges on, both Nigerians and the international community are keen to see how the judiciary can wiggle itself out of the quandary that has attracted scorn, distrust and division within the hitherto revered sacred temple of justice in the country.