Protest Greets Membership Of Justice Salami Corruption Monitoring Committee

The membership of the Justice Ayo Isa Salami’s Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO) has come under interrogation by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

In an open letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman, National Judicial Council (NJC) Justice Water Onnoghen, the group has urged him to use his “good offices and position to urgently revisit and review the composition of to remove the risk of apparent and potential conflicts between the work of the committee and the private practice of some of its members who are handling high-profile cases of corruption involving politically exposed persons (PEPs).”

The organisation proposes “that for the Salami Committee to perform its tasks effectively and with propriety, it should preferably be composed entirely of members of the judiciary, particularly drawn from available pool of brilliant and incorruptible retired judges.”

In the letter dated October 3 and signed by SERAP executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation said that, “While international law does not prohibit some representation of the legal profession or academics, we urge your Lordship to select candidates from these fields to the Salami committee based on their demonstrable commitment to the fight against corruption, and after extensive consultation, and a thorough scrutiny of the candidates’ past record of legal practice, to eliminate all possibilities of bias and conflict of interest.”

According to the SERAP, this “would ensure accountability keeping the independence of the judiciary intact anduncompromised. SERAP believes that until the issues raised in this letter are satisfactorily addressed, Nigerians would have a doubt in their mind as to the ability of the Salami committee to discharge its mandates effectively and with propriety, and would have a right to have a doubt.

“It is important for the Salami committee to function in a way that could preserve judicial independence, provide information for judges to improve their performance, and increase the public’s confidence in the courts.”

The letter reads in part: “SERAP urges your Lordship to urgently revisit, review, and reconsider the membership of the Salami committee to ensure that members currently handling high-profile corruption cases involving PEPs are removed. This proposal aims solely to remove the risk of apparent and potential conflicts between the work of the committee and the private practice of some of its members who are handling high-profile cases of corruption involving PEPs and to ensure the independence, impartiality, integrity and accountability of the judiciary.

“SERAP believes that judicial accountability should be secured in a way that is harmonious with, and not damaging to, the essential character and functions of the judicial office. A system of fair, effective and trustworthy judicial performance evaluation promotes public confidence in the judiciary, which, in turn, is essential to judicial independence.”

The CJN had appointed the Chief Judge of Borno State, Justice Kashim Zannah; Chief Judge of Imo State, Justice P.O. Nnadi; Chief Judge of Delta State, Justice Marsahal Umukoro and Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice M. L. Abimbola. Others are representative of NJC; representative of non-governmental organisations, representative of Ministry of Justice; representative of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria; President, Nigerian Bar Association, Abubakar Mahmoud; Wole Olanipekun; Olisa Agbakoba; J. B Daudu; Augustine Alegeh and Garba Tetengi, as members of the committee.