TheNewsGuru

Tag: Justice Salami

  • No regrets probing Magu – Justice Salami

    No regrets probing Magu – Justice Salami

    Justice Ayo Salami, chairman of the presidential panel investigating Ibrahim Magu, suspended chairman of the EFCC has denied reports he regretted taking up the assignment.

    An online news platform (not TheNewsGuru.com, TNG) had reported that Salami made the remark to some lawyers representing Magu.

    But the respected judge discredited the report as figment of the imagination of the medium and the lawyers who spoke with it.

    “The reports were a figment of the wild imagination of the reporter, the two lawyers quoted as his sources and the medium that published the story,” Salami was reported to have said on Tuesday.

    “There was no time anything near the unthinkable scenario painted in the false story occurred in any meeting between myself and the lawyers to Magu or any other person, for that matter, since the Judicial Commission of Inquiry began its sittings.

    “I have no cause to express any regret over my Chairmanship of the Commission, not to talk of betraying any form of emotion before anyone about it. I see my appointment to serve as the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry as an honour and call to service, thus my decision to accept diligently and patriotically discharge this responsibility.

    “I have never appointed any of the two lawyers or any other person(s) to speak on my behalf as I can express myself without recourse to the lawyers of the persons we are probing. As an eminent jurist, who retired as the President of the Court of Appeal, I have handled much more complex cases than the current one before the Commission. There is no doubt that the false reports were aimed at causing mischief and tarnishing my hard-earned reputation and integrity. I remain resolute and committed to the service of the nation and ready to champion the ideals of justice and fairness.

    “I want to point out that such wild claims against me and the Commission are not strange to me, given the manner in which the lawyers to Magu have been carrying on in the conduct of their client’s case before the Commission. Planting such lies in the media about proceedings at the panel has been their pastime. They believe that it is by engaging in such media propaganda against the Commission that their client can be easily absolved of the various allegations that have been brought against him.”

    Salami asked Nigerians to disregard the report.

    He said “lies and blackmail” will not deter him and other members of the panel from discharging their duty.

    He said the panel which he chairs will continue its investigation of the allegations against Magu with a view to unearthing the truth and ensuring that justice is done.

    Magu is being investigated over allegations that he mismanaged recovered assets from May 2015 to May 2020, when he was acting chairman.

  • I really don’t know when Magu’s probe will end – Justice Salami

    I really don’t know when Magu’s probe will end – Justice Salami

    The Chairman of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Justice Ayo Salami, the has said he does not know when the probe will end.

    Recall that President Buhari had while inaugurating the seven-man panel on July 3, 2020, given it 45 days to round up its activities and submit its report.

    Buhari listed the seven members of the panel to include Salami (North-Central); Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Michael Ogbezi (South-South); a representative of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Muhammad Babadoko (North-Central); and Hassan Abdullahi from the Department of State Services (North-Central).

    Others are Muhammad Shamsudeen from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (North-West), Douglas Egweme from the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (South-East) and Kazeem Atitebi (South-West), who serves as the secretary.

    However, when asked by The Punch Newspapers when the probe will end having exceeded the presidential timeline of 45 days, Salami, who is a former President of the Court of Appeal said: “I really don’t know.”

     

  • Ex- Appeal Court Justice Salami rejects appointment as anti-corruption chairman

    Former President of the Court of Appeal Justice Ayo Salami (retd) has rejected his appointment as the Chairman of the Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO), The Nation reports.

    Justice Salami was named the chair of COTRIMCO, which was set up by the National Judicial Council (NJC,) on September 27.

    According to The Nation, Justice Salami is uncomfortable with the composition of the 15-man committee.

    The panel has some members who had been implicated in some conflicting challenges between the bench and the bar.
    It was gathered that Salami rejected his appointment after discussing his reservations with Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    A Supreme Court source said “I think Salami felt that a few members of the committee had been entrenched in the intrigues in the nation’s Judiciary.

    “He believes that as the chairman of the committee, he will not have the authority to keep those members in check.

    “So, instead of creating unnecessary problem for himself without any place to run to, he opted to stay away from the committee.

    “In fact, while he was still being asked by colleagues to give the appointment a chance, there was controversy over the reinstatement of a former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina. Salami just said he won’t accept this offer.

    “He, however, took time to meet with the CJN personally to thank him for the honour and why he cannot accept the job. He made it known that he had no grudges against the CJN.”

  • NJC appoints Justice Salami as head of corruption cases’ panel

    The National Judicial Council NJC) has appointed retired Court of Appeal President Justice Isa Ayo Salami as the head of a 15-member committee to monitor courts’ handling of corruption cases.

    The committee, named: The Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO), is also expected to drive the NJC’s” new policy on anti-corruption war.

    NJC’s Director of Information Soji Oye, in a statement yesterday, said the decision on the committee’s composition was taken yesterday at the NJC’s 82th meeting in Abuja.

    He said the NJC has directed heads of courts to cooperate with the committee and furnish it with information about corruption cases pending before them.

    Oye added that the NJC has also asked the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to set aside a date every week for the hearing of appeals relating to corruption cases.

    He said the committee’s primary functions include:

    • regular monitoring and evaluation of proceedings at designated courts for financial and economic crimes nationwide;
    • advising the Chief Justice of Nigeria on how to eliminate delay in the trial of alleged corruption cases;
    • giving feedback to the council on progress of cases in the designated courts, conduct background checks on judges selected for the designated courts; and
    • evaluating the performance of the designated courts.

    Other members of the committee are Justice Kashim Zannah (Chief Judge of Borno State), Justice P. O. Nnadi (CJ, Imo), Justice Marshal Umukoro (CJ, Delta), Justice M. L. Abimbola (CJ, Oyo State), President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) and four former NBA Presidents – Wole Olanipekun, Olisa Agbakoba, Joseph Daudu and Augustine Alegeh (all Senior Advocates).

    Others are Dr. Garba Tetengi (SAN), Mrs. R. I. Inga, representative of some non-government organisations, representative of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and NJC’s Secretary, Gambo Saleh.