By Rafiu Ajakaye
ABUJA, Nigeria (AA) - A retired Nigerian jurist has turned down a nomination to chair a government committee established to monitor and offer guidance on how to fasttrack various corruption cases in the courts.
Justice Ayo Salami had in September been nominated to chair the 15-member panel set up by the country's chief justice, Walter Onnoghen in what was the bench’s response to criticism by President Muhammadu Buhari that the judiciary was not doing enough in the fight against corruption.
Awasam Bassey, spokesman for the chief justice, confirmed that Salami has withdrawn from the committee.
“I can confirm that the Honorable Justice Isa Ayo Salami has resigned from the committee,” Bassey told Anadolu Agency over the phone, adding however that the retired jurist had yet to make known his reasons for declining the job.
A source close to the retired jurist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu Agency that Salami feared certain conflicts of interest of certain lawyers on the panel would render it powerless.