Salami retiring without blemish – Daudu

At the venue, some lawyers, including the immediate past NBA President JB Daudu SAN, spoke to our reporter on Justice Ayo Isa Salami, suspended President of the Court of Appeal, who will retire October 15, having attained the mandatory retirement age of 70. Joseph Bodunrin Daudu SAN:It is a rather not too complicated issue, to […]

At the venue, some lawyers, including the immediate past NBA President JB Daudu SAN, spoke to our reporter on Justice Ayo Isa Salami, suspended President of the Court of Appeal, who will retire October 15, having attained the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Joseph Bodunrin Daudu SAN:
It is a rather not too complicated issue, to the extent that the NBA took a position when I was president; that while his case was pending, he ought not to have been removed. It is not fair. What happened thereafter, along the way, could have been better imagined.
The reality is that the decision of the National Judicial Council (NJC) did not end the case, and it was Justice Salami himself that instituted the case, so all he needed to have done was to have withdrawn his suit and then relied on what the NJC said. But to keep the matters pending he allowed the Federal Government to use the case as a subterfuge to keep his position in limbo. His tenure has come to an end now by effluxion of time.
Having regards to the Nigerian system, what happened to Justice Salami is nothing extraordinary. His matter should have been better tactically tackled.
So we cannot lay the blame on one of the parties alone.
The way out is that he has attained the retirement age of 70 years,  all the courtesies would be extended to him.  Mind you, the NJC has a resolution in which they have wiped off all the allegations against him and the findings of judicial misconduct. Therefore he retires as a man without blemish and as a man without any stain who should be properly honoured as one of the legendary judicial officers that has ever served this country.
Edgeston Onah, practicing in the law firm of Edoma – Egba and Company, Calabar
Even when certain policy thrusts were recommended with objectivity, to give strength to the judicial system, the government displayed impunity.  Ordinarily, when a recommendation by the NJC is made it is adopted as a policy thrust by the Federal Government in order to give thrust and direction to our national policy and at least to give the impression to the Comity of Nations that we are reasoning in line with common sense and best practice in order to allow for acceptance by other nations. Unfortunately we are seeing a legal luminary, we are waiting to see how best the executive will address this but time is running out.
We should not allow this kind of display of dictatorial attitude by the executive to happen again.  What we need to see is what is reasonable and not where one man exercises a degree of right and authority like a maximum leader. It is not acceptable in an emerging democracy like Nigeria.
For me I am not comfortable with it and I would urge the executive to review its policy thrust to allow the judiciary its independence. We err and at least if we err and a review is made, the executive should allow him and toe the recommendation of the NJC. The body that is empowered to take decision and review them, has so done, I don’t see why the executive should not implement NJC’s decision using the excuse of pending cases. With the recommendation of the NJC that he should be re-instated, automatically whatever case that is in court becomes a nullity and the court has that right suo moto to declare them as a nullity.
Anonymous lawyer
Look at the contributions he would have made but they just put him at bay all this period. The FG’s action is not only impunity but recklessness. The truth of the matter is that that episode is a sad day for the administration of justice in Nigeria; a very sad day that such a judicial officer can be treated with disgrace. But it is politics by the powers that be that decided to treat him that way because he wanted to ensure that the right things are done. It is sad. Technically speaking since he has put in his pre-retirement notice, it is over now because he would not stay beyond his retirement.

Barrister Emeka Nwangwu, Owerri based Lawyer:
The treatment meted out to Justice Salami is improper and calls for concern. The circumstances leading to his suspension and even all the intrigues about deciding it in court have much of politics than law. He was President Court of Appeal,  and Court of Appeal at that time was the last court in governorship election petition matters and he presided to the best of his ability according to the law, but it is like some people had interest and felt they had to stop him. Apart from Salami as a person, it is a bad precedent for a judge to be free and bold to do justice according to law.