Yoruba Group slams ACN over attack on Jonathan, CJN

A Yoruba Socio-Cultural and Political Organisation, The Omoluabi Group has described the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) comment on the over alleged move to elevate the Appeal Court President, Justice Isa Ayo Salami to the Supreme Court as a confirmation that “the party, its sole-proprietor, Mr. Bola Tinubu and Justice Salami are partners in the subversion of peoples mandate through the judiciary.”

Omoluabi Group, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye said it was disheartening that CAN Spokesperson, Mr. Lai Mohammed, who is a lawyer by profession, does not see anything wrong in Justice Salami's unethical behaviour of discussing matters of the bench on the pages of newspapers, which has brought the judiciary into disrepute.

He described the comment as an attempt to blackmail President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Iyorger Katsina-Alu and National Judicial Council (NJC), saying “propaganda won't work this.”

Adeyeye, who urged the CJN and NJC not to be deterred by the CAN propaganda said; “From the content and intention of the statement made by the ACN, it is obvious that the party was out to defend Salami, having benefitted immensely from his questionable judicial pronouncements in the past.

“Or is it not funny that ACN has taken it upon itself to be the defender of a senior member of the Nigeria bench who said with his own mouth that he does not trust some of his colleagues in the Court of Appeal to put them on the Appeal Elections tribunals?

 
“If after Justice Salami had confessed that there were conflicting judgments from the Appeal Court which he head, the ACN and its allies are still putting up this spirited defence for him (Salami), definitely, there must be more to it than meet the eyes.

“With this kind of coordinated defence coming from the ACN and its allies, one can now understand how the party was able to know that the Appeal Court judgment on the Ekiti Governorship election was going to be in favour of the party and that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was planning to arrest the judgment.

“Justice Salami was the chairman of the panel and it won't be out of place if it is now concluded that he leaked the judgment to the CAN days before it was delivered. Hence, it now payback time for the ACN!

“However, let Lai Mohammed and his team of propagandists in the CAN know that this time around, propaganda won't work because no individual will be allowed to hold the nation down just to satisfy his corrupt ego and interests.”

While berating Justice Salami for bringing the judiciary into disrepute, Adeyeye said; “Against all ethics, norms and rules of the Bench, Justice Salami granted an interview that was published in Thisday newspaper of January 25, 2011 where he said…Then he raised the issue of using a few Justices to determine appeals. Well, when it comes to that you must use people you trust, you can't just empanel anybody.''

“That Justice Salami could choose to use the pages of newspapers as platforms for discussing matters of the bench shows that the man has lost respect for the judiciary and has opted for the protection of his corrupt judgments.

“This is inimical to the high esteem in which the bench is held by members of the public and Justice Salami must be called tom order before he destroy the bench.”