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The newly appointed acting president of the Court of Appeal, Dalhatu Adamu was Monday morning by 8.40am sworn in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloysius Katsina-Alu at the Supreme Court chambers, in Abuja with few people in attendance. Mr Adamu was appointed to the post on Sunday by President Goodluck Jonathan on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Mr Adamu was picked by the NJC to replace the former president of the court, Ayo Salami who had been involved in a protracted disputation with Mr Katsina-Alu over the handling of the legal dispute arising from the 2007 election. Both men leveled allegations of the corruption against each other in the handling of some of the petitions, but the judicial council, which set up a committee to investigate the allegations, ordered Mr Salami to apologise to the Chief Justice or lose his job. He was subsequently suspended last Thursday by the NJC, which also recommended his retirement, although he had filed a lawsuit challenging the NJC decision.
The presidency, in a statement issued on Sunday by the president's spokesperson, Reuben Abati, said Mr Jonathan received the NJC correspondence dated August 18, recommending the compulsory retirement of Mr Salami for misconduct, in accordance with Section 292 (1) (a) (i) of the Constitution.
The statement said Mr Jonathan has therefore approved the acting appointment of Mr Adamu to perform the functions of the office of the President of the Court of Appeal pending when all issues relating to the office are resolved.