Irrespective
of the claims of the ruling party, it is clear sour grapes on the
democratization of Nigeria following their 2007 rape of our democracy
is really the root cause of the current show of shame in our
judiciary. It is really a sad day for democracy and our corporate
existence, when the last bastion of the common man is behind dragged
through public mud by dirty men whose hands are unclean.
The
facts of the case are simple; and for posterity here they are just in
case you my reader is beginning to get befuddled by the maze of
judicial heresy now going on and intentionally perpetuated by the
double dealers to confuse us.
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In
the 2007 general elections, the
PDP rigged itself into power across the country. This is an
indisputable fact that international observers agreed with; an
assessment that even the then chief beneficiaries (the current
President inclusive) agreed generally with. Nowhere was the rigging
more brazen than the South West region of Nigeria.
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A
spurious Appeal Court ruling however disagreed; the
Supreme Court upheld this anomaly. There were allegations of
massive bribing of Justices sitting on the highest court in
the now infamous Wiki Leaks cables. There is no smoke without
fire.
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The
Court of Appeal led by Justice Salami constituted state elections
petition tribunals that led to a series of reversals across Nigeria.
This of course saw to PDP losing its grip on the hotbed of Nigerian
politics: South West.
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Clearly,
PDP saw this as an affront and began a campaign against the
Presidency of Justice Salami. As usual, they carrot was offered
before the stick. Enter, the surprise promotion to the Supreme Court
at the eve of the current dispensation by the compromised Chief
Justice of Nigeria: Justice Katsina-Alu. The Justice seeing through
their ploy, publicly
rejected this especially given the complicity of the NJC (National
Judicial Council) in approving the said appointment against
protocol!
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Justice
Salami’s public rejection opened up a can of worms exposing the
underbelly of the judiciary for the first time; clearly the Supreme
Court was compromised. He of course alleged the Chief Justice had
asked him to pervert justice in the Sokoto case.
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Two
panels were simultaneously set up to look into Justice Salami’s
grave accusations; one by the body of benchers led by the National
Judicial Council (NJC) and another by the bar constituted by the
NBA. The NJC is a
creation of the constitution.
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While
the NJC panel allowed
counter-allegations by totally unrelated third party (i.e.
removed Southwest PDP governors) that Justice Salami was a friend of
the opposition as evidenced by call-logs now
famously disowned by the mobile operators, the NBA panel focused
on the allegation of “cross-benching” and unethical interference
by the Appeal Court President against the Supreme Court Chief
Justice. One begins to wonder on what grounds deposed illegal
governor of Ekiti Oni was appearing at the NJC panel.
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The
two panels reached radically different conclusions. The NJC panel
somehow arrived at the conclusion that Justice Salami
was somehow friendly with the opposition Action Congress Nigeria
without telling us how; while rejecting the validity of the call
logs as a basis of evidence. Can someone say muddling? They also
accused Justice Salami of perjury and required an apology for a
crime that carries a fourteen years sentence! The
NBA panel indicted Chief Justice Katsina-Alu for interference.
How so?
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One
of the lead witness against Justice Salami at the NJC (Justice
Dahiru Musdapher )
also presided
upon this judicial anomaly at the NJC. Clearly the NJC was no
neutral arbiter, its original plan of promoting Justice Salami
having been spurned and starting the chaos.
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Justice
Salami sought redress from the court; seeking a stay of the report
of the NJC which otherwise was binding. A service was ordered by the
court while the NJC, a body supposedly of the highest rank of
jurists, refused
to get served.
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Just
about the deadline, 8
of 23 NJC members sitting voted (5 -3) to suspend the President of
the Court of Appeals when two-thirds was required. Now clearly a
judge in its own case!
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Within
twenty-hours, without even allowing the pending court cases to
settle, the PDP President Goodluck Jonathan and chief beneficiary of
judicial bribery confessed to American diplomats, acting in
coordination with the NJC filled
the so called “vacant” position of the President of the Court of
Appeal. Shame.
Another
curious fact that needs to be explored was that in between the
sitting of the NJC to determine this illegal suspension, since the
NJC can only truly recommend discipline going by the letters of the
constitution and not actually implement one, the PCA lost his
security. I bet there was some level of “executive coordination”!
Certainly,
the position of the legislature the only body vested with the power
to impeach Justices will be known in the next few weeks; only then
will the show of shame by our body of jurists with the connivance of
a shameless executive and a clueless President be either brought to
an end or allowed to fester as our nation becomes a true laughing
stock!
It
gives one shudder that an eminent jurist in the person of Justice
Salami who leads the nation second highest court can be made to pay
the price for forthrightness by the powers that be, who now seek so
hard to sully the man’s hard earned reputation when clearly they
have none. It is certainly a sad day in Nigeria, and the President of
the republic should know better than become a participant in this
foolhardy charade! We are all made unsafe by this show of shame.
In
any case, nothing but the resignation of the current Chief Justice
will restore the leadership that the nation’s judiciary currently
requires. I hope reason prevails, and there are few old men left in
our village. Whatever happened to superior judicial temperament
anyway?
