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A former President of the Court of Appeal, Isa Ayo Salami, has stirred fresh debate over the 2023 general elections, asserting that Peter Obi ought not to have been cleared to contest the presidential poll under the Labour Party.
The retired jurist attributed what he described as flawed outcomes in the electoral process to gaps in judicial competence, noting that similar concerns surrounded the case of Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf.
Salami made these remarks on Tuesday in Ilorin, Kwara State, while receiving an award from the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), presented by its founder Dapo Olorunyomi and Executive Director Motunrayo Alaka.
Reflecting on the state of the judiciary in Nigeria, Salami expressed concern over the quality and preparedness of some judges. “There are a few bad eggs amongst some judges. Strictly speaking, I will not say bad eggs.
”Some of them have a problem with learning. They don’t have a good background to be judges.
”Imagine appointing a higher registrar as a judge. He has no experience. In the past, this would not have happened.
“Maybe due to population explosion, we have everybody rearing law. Every university or college is trying to establish a law faculty. All these may be responsible, not because they are dishonest.
“Personally, they are inadequate. This might be responsible for their wrong judgments. At times, if you see the judgments of some of them, even the Supreme Court judgments, you will be astounded and wonder at what is happening.
“For instance, Peter Obi ought not be allowed to contest the 2023 presidential election. In this sense, by the time he lost the PDP primary, LP had submitted its list of members to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“And the Constitution says there cannot be an independent candidacy, so how did he become a candidate of the LP if he does not belong to the LP?
“The same thing happened to the Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, who had now defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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“His name is not in the NNPP’s register, but they issued him a membership card and the register is supposed to be the mother of the card.
“But the Supreme Court Countenanced it, even though the tribunal and Appeal Court frowned at it. That is the problem of competence.
“People get to the Supreme Court not because they are good but because there is a vacancy from their zones.
” They supersede people who are their seniors, whom they met at the Court of Appeal and who are more experienced than they are.
“I am a practical example. Some of them who came ten years after I had reached the Court of Appeal were recommended to the Supreme Court by me because my zone did not have a vacancy. That is the tragedy we have found ourselves in. We hope that with time, everything will be corrected.”
Despite his criticisms, the former appellate court president expressed appreciation to the WSCIJ for the honour bestowed on him.
“I am very happy to receive the award. I hope and pray that your organisation will flourish. I am very sure that many people will be eager, from time to time, to be honoured by you.
“There is hardly any judge who will not appreciate this type of award coming to him. Even if he is a bad judge, not to talk of others who are very good and dedicated,” he said.
Salami also reflected on the influences that shaped his career, citing the inspiration he drew from Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and the late statesman Obafemi Awolowo.
“In fact, Chief Awolowo was the one who influenced my decision to read law during his treasonable felony trial. And the government prevented his defence counsel from coming into the country from Britain.
“Chief Awolowo decided to take up his own personal defence. So I thought if I go into politics and I find myself in the same hot pot, I should be able to defend myself,” the jurist added.”
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