Date: 2017-11-05

A close associate of a former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, Alhaji Olola Kasum, on Saturday commended the retired jurist for rejecting the chairmanship of the Corruption and other Financial Crimes Cases Trials Monitoring Committee, set up by the National Judicial Council.

He said Salami turned down the offer because names of members of the bench and bar with questionable judicial antecedents were allegedly included in the committee.

Kasum, who is the President-General, Afonja Descendants Union, Ilorin, Kwara State, and a childhood friend of Salami, stated this in a statement made available to our correspondent.

He said, "Salami shocked both his admirers, wellwishers as well as his professional colleagues with his resignation of his appointment as the Chairman of the panel of judges and lawyers saddled with the herculean task of fast-tracking the current snail-pace of court proceedings involving corruptions cases in the country.

"Unfortunately, the anti-corruption panel included members of the bench and the bar with questionable judicial antecedents. The discovery of this anomaly was sufficiently brought to the attention of the federal authorities by both the media and concerned public figures.

"Disgusted by this open ambivalent posture of the federal authorities in the composition of the panel by hunting with the hound and running with hare, Justice Ayo Salami, a no-nonsense legal luminary with proven record of probity and accountability, had no other option but to throw in the sponge to save his name.

"Even as he rejected the new prestigious and vindicated appointment as judge of judges, Salami's image as an incorruptible legal luminary continues to soar higher and beyond the shores of this country. He will live long and survive all tribulations. His reward is in heaven and beyond the shores of this country.