BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE
The Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, declared last week that the invasion of Justice Mary Odili’s residence by security agents penultimate week will be debated as a matter of urgent national importance on resumption of plenary this week.
Security operatives had invaded the Abuja residence of the Supreme Court justice based on information that illegal activities were going on there.
The chairman of the Committee, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central), disclosed this during an oversight visit to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahamud Tanko, in his office.
Bamidele said, “We cannot pretend not to be unaware of the embarrassing situation on invasion of residence of Justice Mary Odili on Friday night by security agents without joining issue with anyone. We take the matter seriously, by the time when we are back to plenary session; we will discuss the matter as of urgent national importance.”
However, cheering news came last week that a magistrate court in Abuja had revoked the warrant granted to search the residence of Justice Odili.
Documents sighted by The Point showed that the search warrant was obtained after one Aliyu Ibrahim, a whistleblower, deposed to an affidavit on October 13, stating that he “observed some illegal activities” within the area.
The search warrant was granted to one Lawrence Ajodo, identified as a Chief Superintendent of Police and a member of the investigation team under the asset tax recovery panel of the Ministry of Justice.
The recovery panel comprises the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigeria Police Force and the Ministry of Justice.
The EFCC through its spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, had said the commission did not carry out an operation in the home of the Supreme Court Justice
However, the warrant which was granted by Emmanuel Iyanna, a chief magistrate at Wuse zone 6 magistrate court, did not bear the address or name of the judge.
While Odili’s address is 7, Imo River Street, Maitama, the address on the warrant is 9, Imo Street, Maitama.
The chief magistrate revoked the search warrant on the grounds that the court was misled.
“Upon misrepresentation to this honourable court that led to the issuance of a search warrant in favour of Joint Panel Recovery, Ministry of Justice, against House 9, Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja, dated October 29, 2021, in view of the above fact, the said search warrant is hereby revoked,” the order reads.
Mike Ozekhome, lawyer to Odili, had said the incident was either an honest mistake or it was politically motivated to embarrass her or intimidate Peter Odili, former governor of Rivers state who is the husband of the judge.
“We are deeply saddened and taken aback by this uncivilized and shameful show of primitive force on an innocent judicial officer that has so far spent several years of her productive life serving the country she calls her own
“
The Supreme Court management, on Tuesday, broke its silence on the controversial raid on the home of Justice Odili.
In a statement by its Director, Press and Information, Festus Akande, the apex court said the invasion which “depicted a gory picture of war” appeared like a mission to kill or maim her.
It said the raid carried out under the guise of undertaking a search based on a “questionable and baseless” warrant was “uncivilized and shameful.”
“We are alarmed with the news of the unwarranted and despicable raid on the official residence of one of our senior justices in the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Mary Peter Odili, JSC, CFR on Friday October 29, 2021 in a Gestapo manner that unfortunately depicted a gory picture of war by some armed persons suspected to be security operatives representing different agencies of government, who seemed to have come to kill and maim their target under the guise of undertaking a search whose warrant was questionable and baseless.
“We are deeply saddened and taken aback by this uncivilized and shameful show of primitive force on an innocent judicial officer that has so far spent several years of her productive life serving the country she calls her own.”
Condemning the raid, the apex court drew parallels between it and the similar one carried out by the State Security Service operatives on the houses of some judges, including two Justices of the Supreme Court, in Abuja and other parts of the country in 2016.
“This incident brought back, rather painfully, the ugly memory of the October 2016 midnight invasion of the homes of our respected justices with no satisfactory explanations as to the true motive behind such brazen assault on our collective sensibility,” the Supreme Court’s statement said.
The apex court said the judiciary being the third arm of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria “should be respected and treated as such.”
“We have had a full dosage of this fusillade of unwarranted and unprovoked attacks on our judicial officers and even facilities across the country and we say it loudly now that enough is enough.”
It added that the judiciary should never be misconstrued by any individual or institution of government as the weeping child among the three arms of government that must always be chastised and ridiculed to silence because of our conservative disposition.
The Supreme Court said it had carried out an investigation into the incident, but also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba, to discretely probe the matter and make its outcome public.
“We commenced a full-scale independent investigation to unravel the true masquerades behind the mystery as well as the real motives behind the whole imbroglio,” the statement said, but did not disclose the findings of the probe.
The statement came almost two days after police authorities ordered an investigation into the incident.
In a police statement denying Baba’s knowledge of the invasion of Justice Odili, the IGP “directed the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) to conduct a discrete investigation into the incident.”
He also promised to make the outcome of the investigation public while he also ordered
President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olumide Akpata, at a special press briefing in Lagos on Friday, described the operation as egregious and the gathering of an ominous cloud over the judiciary, saying it was reminiscent of how operatives of the Department of State Services in 2016 raided the homes of seven judges and how a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen (retd.), was “illegally removed from office,” ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Akpata vowed that the NBA would stop at nothing to ensure that those behind the latest operation were unmasked and punished, to put a stop to “the assault on the judiciary.”
He said the NBA would not accept the flurry of denials by the Attorney General of the Federation and security agencies that they knew nothing about the operation.
He said the NBA also rejected the panel being set up by the AGF to investigate the matter because the AGF himself has a case to answer and he could not be a judge in his own case.
He, therefore, called on the President Muhammadu Buhari, to set up an independent panel to unravel the actors behind the invasion of Justice Odili’s home.
Akpata said, “We are calling on the President, the head of the executive arm of government, to set up an independent panel of inquiry, to look into this assault on the judiciary, which is another arm of government because there is a dark cloud hanging and all fingers are pointing at the executive as being behind this action.
“It behoves Mr. President to step in immediately, to set up this panel of inquiry, which, at the minimum, will have a judicial officer and the NBA involved so that we can get to the bottom of this issue and ask: who gave that instruction?”
Akpata said the NBA would also do its own housekeeping, vowing that, “In the event that we find that any lawyer was involved in this unfortunate incident, that lawyer will be subjected to our disciplinary mechanisms and that lawyer will definitely face the music.”
The NBA President said, “We note that the Attorney General of the Federation has reportedly agreed to make himself available for investigation. This is consistent with the position of the National Executive Council of the NBA, to the effect that the Attorney General definitely has questions to answer. However, he cannot subject himself to a panel that he sets up. This is why the panel to be set up by the President is very necessary.
“Although appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria is by seniority, with age factor playing a key role, there is no official evidence to show that the current CJN, Justice Tanko, would retire before Justice Odili
“
“If the Attorney General is found culpable, then as a lawyer, we will take him before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee; because if indeed, he is found to have given the directives that led to the invasion of the home of the Justice of the Supreme Court, then he is not fit to hold the office he occupies presently and continue to be the recipient of the privileges the profession has accorded to him.”
Asked if the NBA has the power to discipline the AGF, Akpata added, “There is a mechanism, and that is for us to bring him before the LPDC and what does the LPDC do? What is the ultimate sanction, amongst others? He can be stopped from practising law. What does the LPPC do, amongst others? The LPPC can strip him of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria and also the Body of Benchers can reconsider his life membership of that body. So, without mincing words, those are the steps that the NBA can take.”
The NBA President said action was also being taken against the Abuja magistrate, Emmanuel Iyanna, who issued the search warrant leading to the invasion of Justice Odili’s home.
“Questions must be asked of the quality and sufficiency of the materials placed before His Worship before issuing the search warrant in the first place. The NBA National Executive Council believes that even on a cursory reading of the materials placed before His Worship, there is a prima facie evidence that the search warrant ought not to have been issued in the circumstance,” he said.
In his reaction, the spokesman for the AGF, Umar Gwandu Gwandu, said the move by the NBA was pre-emptive as security agencies were still investigating the affair.
Gwandu reportedly said, “Members of the committee will not be dancing to the tune of mischief makers to satisfy the whimsical aspersions of certain individuals.
“By saying ‘to take action against the AGF’ makes it confusingly pre-emptive, antithetical to doctrines of fair hearing and presumption of innocence, prejudicial, conclusive and does not give any room for further investigation at a time when the matter is being investigated by relevant agencies.”
Justice Odili is the wife of a former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili.
The invasion of her residence was initially linked to an acclaimed investigation of Odili by the EFCC.
The EFCC had made a move to prosecute Odili after he left office after two terms as governor in 2007, but was barred by the Federal High Court which issued a perpetual injunction restraining EFCC and other security agencies from arresting him.
Recently, Odili filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge the seizure of his passport by the Nigeria Immigration Service which claimed to have acted on EFCC’s instruction.
Delivering judgement in the suit earlier in October, the judge, Inyang Ekwo, ordered the NIS to release Odili’s passport, while also affirming the previous court decisions prohibiting his prosecution.
Emerging details suggest that the raid on Justice Odili’s official residence was part of the power play around the unsuccessful attempts made by the EFCC to prosecute her husband over alleged money laundering for the past 12 years.
Odili had since 2007 got a court injunction to prevent the EFCC from investigating or arresting him and probing the account of the state government, and his wife, Justice Odili, is said to be the one behind that perpetual court injunction against the anti-graft agency.
It was also alleged that the attack was part of an orchestration to ensure Justice Odili does not succeed Justice Mohammed Tanko, Chief Justice of the Federation.
The Point learnt that the continued attempts by the EFCC to overturn the court injunction took the case to the Supreme Court where it appears to have been stalled.
The immediate past Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, had expressed his frustration on the matter shortly before his tenure was probed and his appointment terminated by the present government on grounds of insubordination.
Magu, who once described Rivers State as “next to Lagos in terms of crimes” and the “headquarters of money laundering because there is a lot of oil money here,” vowed to contest the court order that Odili obtained to stop the EFCC from investigating and prosecuting him for alleged money laundering.
“Nothing is going to stop us. Even the issue of the court order allegedly obtained by Dr Peter Odili and co, to stop the EFCC from investigation and prosecution is still at the Supreme Court. We are on it. We will follow it up,” Magu had vowed.
Another source said “Although appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria is by seniority, with age factor playing a key role, there is no official evidence to show that the current CJN, Justice Tanko, would retire before Justice Odili.”
Justice Odili is second to Justice Tanko in rank, but she is older. According to her bio-data, she is 69 years-old and due for retirement in 2022 by official rule when she turns 70. Justice Tanko is 67 years, meaning he still has three years to go. In fact, Justice Odili is the oldest Justice of the current 16-membership list of the apex court.
The others are, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola 63; Musa Datijo, 64; Muhammad Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, 63; Chima Centus Nweze, 63; Justice Amina Augie, 68; Justice Ejembi Eko, 69; Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji, 65; Justice John Inyang Okoro, 62; Justice Lawal Garba, 62; Helen M. Ogunwumiju, 65; Addu Aboki, 63; I.M. M. Saulawa, 62; Adamu Jauro, 65; Tijjani Abubakar, 68; and Emmanuel A. Agim, 61.
A source noted that linking the incident with the removal of the former CJN, Walter Onnoghen, from office in controversial circumstances does not hold water, given that Justice Odili would retire before the current CJN, Tanko, many months before the 2023 general election. Also, she does not pose a political threat beyond what is seen as an alleged attempt to stall her husband’s trial by the EFCC.
On September 15, 2021, a month and two weeks before the drama unfolded on House No 9, Mataima, Street, Abuja, the EFCC had signaled its intention to re-open the probe of Dr Peter Odili. The Nigeria Immigration Service claimed, in response to a suit filed by the former Rivers State governor in a Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging the seizure of his passport by the NIS, that the EFCC had “placed Peter Odili on its watch list.”
Counsel to the NIS, Jimoh Adamu, said he came to court to file a counter affidavit to oppose Odili’s suit, while Ifedayo Adedipe for Odili did not oppose the request for adjournment of the suit.
“Part of the war on this matter is to embarrass, harass, intimidate and that was the agenda on the raiding of Justice Odili’s home,” said a government source.
At the moment, no substantial head way had been made on the drama. The Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, which had denied authorising the magistrate to issue the purported search warrant, is yet to empanel members of the committee to probe what transpired as at Friday November 6, 2021, a week after the ugly incident and five days after it denied any involvement.
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali, said the force had intensified investigation to unmask the unknown security personnel that carried out the invasion.
CSP Lawrence Ajodo, who led the operation to the Odilis’ home, has been identified and suspended by the police authorities. He reportedly wore an identity signed by AGF office.
For now, suspense and anxiety hang over the motives of the dramatis personae behind the ominous invasion. And this will continue until the various investigations and probe panels come to equity with their
findings.
