Justice Ayo Salami Retires from the Judiciary

Former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, has resigned his appointment from the Nigerian judiciary. This is coming after almost two years of intrigues against his recall to the Court of Appeal which he heads.


Justice Ayo Salami was suspended for refusing to apologise to the council and the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, after a panel of the council found him to have lied against the CJN.

Beyond the suspension, the council recommended to the President to retire him from the Bench, an action that forced Salami to challenge NJC’s action in court.

However, in May 2012, NJC rescinded its decision and recommended the reinstatement of Salami, but Federal Government citing several court actions over the matter, distanced itself from the recommendation of the council.

Competent judicial sources confirmed that the respected judge had finally opted to retire from service rather than continue to wait for reinstatement as was recommended by the National Judicial Council, NJC, which had earlier approved his suspension.

The source confirmed that Salami had already tendered his pre-retirement letter to NJC and that the council had accepted it.

According to the source, Salami, who is expected to formally retire from service on October 15, was to proceed on his pre-retirement leave this month.

The source, yesterday, said: “It is true that we have received Salami’s pre-retirement letter and notice in accordance with the rules of National Judicial Service of Nigeria.

“The development has put to an end any possibility of recalling him.”