The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja yesterday struck out the application filed by the suspended president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami asking the appellate court to direct the Federal High Court in Abuja to adjudicate on his suit before it and not to remit it to National Industrial Court.
Salami had on August 18, 2011 filed an action before a Federal High Court in Abuja against the National Judicial Council that recommended for his suspension to President Goodluck Jonathan.
This followed his refusal to apologise to the Council and former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, after an NJC panel said he breached the code of conduct by lying against the Council.
Salami went to the court of appeal after the NJC’s lawyer, Chief Mike Ozokhome (SAN) told the Federal High Court that the matter brought by Salami is relating to or is connected with labour, employment, trade unions, industrial relations and that only the National Industrial Court has exclusive jurisdiction by virtue of section 254c (1) of the? 1999 Constitution as amended.
But a five-man panel of the Court of Appeal headed by Justice Husseini Muktar yesterday struck out the suit on the grounds that it is incompetent since the federal High Court? is yet to transmit the needed documents to it as provided by Order 5, Rules i&ii of the Court of Appeal.
Earlier, Counsel to Salami, Olumide Olujinmi had told the court that they had written a letter to the Registrar of the Federal High Court seeking for the transmission of the documents, but they were surprised that the court is yet to do so, arguing that it was the duty of the lower court to transmit the documents and not the plaintiff.