President, Court of Appeal formally seeks to pull suit against ‘promotion’

[NewsCaster]

(The Guardian) - It is now official: President, Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Ayo Isa Salami, has filed an application, seeking to withdraw the suit he filed against the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Iyorgher Katsina-Alu and other judicial bodies over his controversial elevation to the Supreme Court by the CJN.

The bid to withdraw the suit, which also named the National Judicial Commission (NJC), Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as co – defendants, was contained in a Notice of Discontinuance filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division on Monday by his team of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) led by Mr. Lateef Fagbemi.

Although by the Rules of Court or Procedure, a Plaintiff is not under obligation to proffer reasons for withdrawing a suit, in his Notice of Discontinuance, Salami predicated his decision to drop the suit on the intervention by Nigerians of good will and stakeholders in the justice sector.

"Following the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians and stakeholders in the justice sector, I hereby apply to discontinue this suit," Salami's Notice of Discontinuance read.

By the said Notice of Discontinuance, Salami's legal team is expected to pray the court to strike off the said suit.

The Guardian had exclusively reported yesterday that Salami was likely to spare the court some blushes by withdrawing the suit, which was expected to be an epic legal battle between the country's upper judicial echelons and institutions.

Meanwhile, a member of the Inner Bar, who spoke with The Guardian on condition of anonymity expressed concern over the needless imbroglio among the country's leading judicial officers and called on all parties, including the media, to "sheath their swords in the interest of the temple of justice."

"The temple and fountain of justice should not be dragged into needless controversies and politics. The Nigerian judiciary has done so well and all persons, including the media, should tread softly so as not to tarnish the only temple where all persons regardless of status go to for succour", the Senior Advocate pleaded.

Impeccable judicial sources and some aides of the appellate court's chief had disclosed at the weekend that Salami was ready and willing to drop the suit he filed against the CJN and two key judicial bodies.

Salami's resolve to withdraw the case from the court was reportedly prompted by the progress made by the panel set up by the NJC to reconcile the warring topmost judicial officers as well as "intervention of well-meaning Nigerians.

Salami had last Tuesday instituted the action against Katsina-Alu and others, seeking a reversal of the contentious "promotion" because it was out of the norms in the judiciary.

In an affidavit in support of the suit, which Salami deposed to personally, he alleged that Katsina-Alu asked him to compromise the Court of Appeal's verdict on the protracted Sokoto State governorship election petition by either disbanding the original panel, which he (Katsina-Alu) believed was about to give a verdict against the governor or direct the panel to give judgment in the governor's favour.

Sources close to Salami confirmed to The Guardian the Appeal Court chief's decision to discontinue the action in view of the outcome of the NJC meeting held last Wednesday during which the process for his appointment was terminated.

One of the aides, who sought anonymity, said: "The subject matter of the suit has been resolved at the meeting of the NJC last week. It would seem academic to insist on stopping an action that has been undone. And the courts do not waste time going on academic frolics.

"The matter comes up on Wednesday (today) and it is highly likely, except something unusual happens, that oga (boss, that is Salami) will withdraw the suit on that day."

On whether the reconciliation panel played any part in Salami's decision to withdraw the suit, the aide said: "My Lord, the PCA was concerned about an imposition against his will and he beseeched the court to protect him and that is well within his right as a Nigerian. It is also within his right to withdraw the same action if he sees that the injury scare he had that made him go to court has been resolved.

"Reconciliation is a positive word. And my Lord, the PCA is as much a man of peace as he is of honour. So, wherever and whenever there is a chance to make peace in the interest of the Bench and the overall interest of the country, he will take the chance."

The unexpected face-off between the two leading judicial officers took a worrisome dimension last Tuesday when a team of seven SANs led by Fagbemi, including Chief Chuks Mouma, Yusuf Alli, Prof. Itse Sagay, Rickey Tarfa, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, and Adebayo Adelodun, filed an action on behalf of Salami.

In the affidavit, Salami averred that since he refused the request of the CJN to compromise the Sokoto governorship case, the latter had been at loggerheads with him and had been preoccupied with orchestrating plots to unseat him as the appellate court chief.

He described his purported elevation as a "Greek gift," averring that it was the end product of the CJN's ploy to remove him from his position in order to plant his stooge there to do biddings that he (Salami) refused to accede to.

At the court, Salami asked for injunctive reliefs and deposed to three sets of affidavits in which he made weighty allegations against the CJN.

The affidavit read in part: "I have all along enjoyed my work as President of the Court of Appeal and did not have any issues or disagreement with the 1st defendant (Katsina-Alu) until the controversies over the gubernatorial election petition in Sokoto State came to light.

"Following my appointment as the President of the Court of Appeal, I found among the pending election petition appeals, the Sokoto State gubernatorial election petition appeal.

"I set up panels of the Appeal Court to dispose off the pending petitions, including that of Sokoto, and, 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."

Source: Salami formally seeks to pull suit against 'promotion'