Justice Ayo Salami's Successor Reshuffles Presidential Election Tribunal
The acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Dalhatu Adamu, has redeployed a member of the Presidential Election Tribunal, Justice Mohammed Garba, possibly setting the stage for the reconstitution of the panel.

Garba has been replaced with Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa from the Yola Division of the Court of Appeal. Garba, who is believed to be a close ally of the suspended President of the court, Justice Ayo Salami, it was learnt, was transferred to the Calabar Division of the court. Another justice who is also an associate of Salami, Justice Paul Galinje, has been transferred from the Abuja Division of the court to the Port Harcourt Division. Until his transfer last week, Garba was the presiding justice of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.

Last Monday, he presided over the hearing of the petition filed by the Congress for Progressive Change challenging the declaration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as the winner of the April presidential election. It could not be confirmed if the tribunal which comprises Justice M.A. Owoade, I.I. Agbube and Ogbande Ogbuinya will be completely disbanded to pave the way for its reconstitution. Salami’s suspension had reduced the panel membership from five to four. Prior to his suspension, Salami chaired the presidential election petition tribunal.

The tribunal, which began sitting in May, has six months under the law to conclude hearing of the petition on the presidential election. If the panel is disbanded, a new set of justices would have to begin afresh the hearing into the CPC’s petition, thus making the determination of the presidential election petition within six months a challenge to conclude. The National Judicial Council suspended Salami on August 25 and recommended him for retirement from the bench following his refusal to apologise to the council and the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, after a panel of the council found him to have wrongly accused the former CJN of arresting the judgment of the Court of Appeal on the Sokoto State governorship election dispute.

The redeployment of the two justices came in the wake of movement of some registrars of the court. Prior to the redeployment of Garba and Galinje, Adamu was said to be under pressure to reconstitute the presidential election petition tribunal and shake up the Court of Appeal. It was learnt that Adamu was being pressured to reconstitute the presidential election petition tribunal, a move which some lawyers and politicians said would send the dangerous signal to the public.

While acknowledging that Adamu has the constitutional powers to redeploy any justice of the Court of Appeal, a legal expert explained that his action could be misinterpreted given the circumstances under which he came into office. But one of the counsel in the petition before the tribunal said: “If the panel is reconstituted, none of the parties will lose anything because we have not reached the hearing stage. “We are still at the preliminary stage which can be handled by any judge. Once a petition is at the hearing stage, you cannot change the judges. “But I don’t think outright disbandment will be okay because once such a step is taken, petitioners will start to read meanings into it. To me, there is nothing in the petition of the CPC; the panel should be allowed to remain or else, we will end up with a well-deserved judgment being beclouded by political sentiments.”

The CPC had alleged after Salami’s suspension that his removal was aimed at frustrating its petition. The party, in a statement in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Engr. Rotimi Fashakin, had queried what it described as “the hush-hush manner” in which President Goodluck Jonathan approved the NJC’s recommendation for the suspension of the former President of the Court of Appeal. Last week, the National Chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, described Salami’s suspension as an attempt by Jonathan to defeat justice in the presidential election petition tribunal.

He alleged that Salami’s suspension had given credibility to speculations that Jonathan would interfere with the decision of the presidential election petition tribunal, claiming that Salami was suspended to pave the way for manipulation at the tribunal. “What has happened has further given credibility to our speculations, the judiciary is once more being used as tool by the executive arm of government,” he said.

the presidential election petition is the main reason for the removal of salami. the same method through which two igbo national pdp chaimen were removed. it is a shame that our democracy has no respect for oposition.

1025:

the presidential election petition is the main reason for the removal of salami. the same method through which two igbo national pdp chaimen were removed. it is a shame that our democracy has no respect for oposition.

spot on!

Well it is glaring now
And you say some people should allow U rule in peace
What U sow U reap
What'll Abati tell us now?

^^^

What are you guys talking about?

Isn't Salami sympathetic to the opposition parties - the ACN in particular. All men have sinned.

Truth is, it is extremely difficult for Judges in the caliber of the PCA not to be partisan because of the power he wields. The temptation as well as the opportunity are constants and once these 2 combine, forget it, anybody would be susceptible to trading his/her conscience.

Its a shame though.

That was the whole reason for removing salami in the first case,

1025:

the presidential election petition is the main reason for the removal of salami. the same method through which two igbo national pdp chaimen were removed. it is a shame that our democracy has no respect for oposition.

Is he supposed to be oposition? Sadly he has been exposed. No one other than the ACN will ever feel safe to have him as judge in their case. Good bye Salami abi na Ham

Johndoe100:

Is he supposed to be oposition? Sadly he has been exposed. No one other than the ACN will ever feel safe to have him as judge in their case. Good bye Salami abi na Ham
                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Why rush to condemn an innocent man?