President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, as regards his
reinstatement was again dashed on Monday as a Federal High Court sitting in
Abuja declined jurisdiction to entertain the suit seeking his reinstatement.
The presiding judge, Justice Adamu Bello,
declined jurisdiction on the grounds that the plaintiff lacked locus to
institute such an action.
It will be recalled that 11 legal practitioners
under the aegis of the Registered Trustees of the Centre for the Promotion of
Arbitration had approached the court seeking to compel the National
Judicial Council (NJC) to reinstate Salami.
In a judgment that lasted for about 20 minutes,
Justice Bello held that the suit pertained to the individual rights of Salami
and he (Salami) alone has the power to institute a suit to fight for his right.
The court further held that the instant suit was
not a public interest one which just anybody could institute.
According to Justice Bello, “only Justice Ayo
Salami has the locus to bring a legal suit because he is the one affected by
the decision and not the plaintiffs.
“The plaintiffs have no locus to seek for an
enforcement of a decision which does not affect them in any way.
“The court therefore lacks jurisdiction to
entertain this suit and it is hereby struck out, I made no order as to cost.”
The plaintiffs had earlier prayed the
court to hold that the NJC, by virtue of the 1999 constitution, as amended, has
the exclusive power to mete out sanctions against judicial officers. Such
powers, it added, include discipline and recall.
