PERJURY: NJC appoints 3-man panel on sanctions against Salami •Now I can pursue my case at Appeal Court -Oni

THE National Judicial Council (NJC) rounded off its two-day meeting, on Thursday, with the reported convocation of a three-man panel to recommend punishment for the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Isa Salami, over his perjury indictment.

The panel, which will be headed by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, has been reportedly mandated to submit its recommendation on August 9.

Apart from the perjury indictment, the five-man probe panel, in its report also established convivial relationship between him and chieftains of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

It was learnt that the council would issue official statement on the probe panel report after the submission of the recommendation panel, report.

The Justice Umaru Abdullahi panel had, in its report, described Salami’s allegations of manipulation in the Sokoto governorship election appeal as baseless.

In a suit challenging his elevation to the Supreme Court, Salami had sworn to an affidavit on oath claiming that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, asked him to pervert the course of justice, an allegation denied by Katsina-Alu in another affidavit on oath.

The NJC, subsequently, asked the probe panel to establish who had perjured between the duo, with the panel report indicting Salami.

On the establishment of evidence of conviviality between him and the politicians, the new panel is expected to determine if Salami had run foul of Rule 1, 2, (A) of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers which states: “In performance of his duties a Judicial Officer should observe the following rules: Rule 1 (2) (a): A Judicial Officer must avoid social relationships that are improper or give rise to an appearance of impropriety, that cast doubt on the Judicial Officer’s ability to decide cases impartially, or that bring disrepute to the judiciary.”

Salami had claimed in his affidavit that “I set up panels of the Appeal Court to dispose of the pending petitions, including that of Sokoto. I was, however, shocked when subsequent to the setting up of a panel on the Sokoto gubernatorial election petition appeal and after all parties had filed and exchanged briefs, adopted same and judgment reserved the 1st defendant summoned me by telephone to his office in Abuja.”

According to him, “the 1st defendant [Justice Katsina-Alu] asked me to disband the panel I had set up for the appeal on the excuse that if the panel allowed the appeal and removed the governor, the ripple effect would lead to a removal of our highly revered Sultan of Sokoto.

“He could not convince me on the logic predicating his reasoning, more especially as the Sultan was not a party to the election petition and as there is no nexus between any of the parties and the sultan, so I told him I would not disband the panel. He asked me in the alternative that I should direct the panel of justices to decide against the appellant. To this again, I still said no, that I would not do anything to pervert the course of justice.”

Meanwhile, former governor of Ekiti State, Chief Segun Oni, has hailed the NJC over the report of the probe panel it set up over allegations of unethical behaviour against Justice Salami, saying he can now pursue his case at the Court of Appeal adjourned sine die.

Oni, who was reacting to newspaper publications on the report of the NJC panel on the allegations, in a statement signed by his media aide, Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre and made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, said “the coast is now clear for the commencement of our case at the Ado-Ekiti Appeal Court, which was adjourned sine die because of the NJC report.”