The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday described as totally unacceptable the step taken by President Goodluck Jonathan on the recent controversy between President of the Court of Appeal, Ayo Salami and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Kastina-Alu which led to the suspension of the former.
ASUU President, Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, who spoke with Journalists yesterday , said that the President’s decision to appoint an acting President of the Court of Appeal when he knew that the matter was in court was unfortunate.
Also, the union said that the action of the National Judicial Council (NJC) was capable of undermining the country’s legal system.
Prof Ukachukwu also called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and others that participated in the meeting that directed the suspension of the President of the Federal Court of Appeal Justice Ayo Salami should be shown the way out of office.
“When the President of the Federal Court of Appeal alleged that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) interfered in the Sokoto Gubernatorial Election Tribunal process, our union called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria to resign and if he felt that he was not guilty, we advised that he should take necessary steps to prove his innocence.
“ Development since then, particularly the latest exhibition of lawlessness and impunity by the National Judicial Council, have gone further to show that the NJC can no-longer be trusted to be imperial and just in the handling of this matter.
“It is now abundantly clear that the Judiciary has for long not been giving justice to all manner of persons without fear of favour. The confidence of the masses on the Judiciary has, by the recent action of the NJC, been severely dented and a clean-up process has become inevitable if the masses of this nation were to continue to repose confidence in the Judiciary and the judicial system”.
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