News Report: Plan To Promote Nigeria's Appeal Court President To Supreme Court Unsettles Opposition Political Parties

Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu

A plan to promote the President of Nigeria's Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami to the Supreme Court by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu have unsettled opposition political parties.

Under the leadership of Justice Salami, the Court of Appeal which serves as the final arbiter in governorship election cases have pronounced controversial verdicts in favour of the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) in its governorship election appeal cases against the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in Ekiti and Osun states. The ACN  and its ally, the Labour Party(LP) which is in power in Ondo state are opposition political parties with followers mainly in South-Western Nigeria.

chidi opara reports learnt from contacts inside PDP, that the national leadership of the party have evidences  that the ACN "blackmailed" the President of the Court of Appeal into appointing judges sympathetic to its cause into the governorship election appeal panels. These contacts also revealed that the PDP leadership was not willing to initiate formal complaint against Justice Salami, "for fear of heating up the polity". "The matter was rather reported informally to the Chief Justice", one contact claimed.

A high level staffer of the Supreme Court told a chidi opara reports' network member in Abuja earlier today that "that was the best way to avert more scandals".

The former Ekiti state governor, Dr. Segun Oni and his Osun state counterpart, rtd. Brigadier-general Olagunsoye Oyinlola criticized the Appeal Court judgments that ousted them.

Justice Ayo Salami had last week in a letter referenced PCA/S.25/VOL.1/143, addressed to the Chief Justice, rejected the promotion.

Checks by chidi opara reports revealed that the plan to move Justice Salami to the apex court have greatly unsettled  the ACN and LP national leaderships, whose hopes are to secure favourable verdicts from the governorship election appeal panels to be constituted by Justice Salami after the 2011 elections.

The two opposition political parties have at the moment reportedly mobilized their traditional and Internet based news media allies to try and wade off Justice Ayo Salami's promotion to the Supreme Court, a move that will remove him from the highly influential position of President of the Court of Appeal.