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NBA condemns raid on Justice Odili’s residence, AGF orders probe
By Modupe Shodeinde
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the recent raid on the Abuja residence of Supreme Court Justice Mary Odili by security operatives on Friday.
Reacting to the invasion on Saturday, the NBA, in a statement by its President, Olumide Akpata, described it as “a part of an orchestrated affront on the judiciary, designed to intimidate and ridicule the judiciary.”
This was as the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), denied knowledge of the operation and ordered a probe into the invasion, said to have been carried out by the Joint Panel Recovery Unit of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The statement read, “The attorney-general of the federation under whose office the team that purportedly carried out the raid is allegedly domiciled, has also denounced the team, which suggests the inference that the residence of the second most senior judicial officer in Nigeria was raided by rogue security agencies.
“The grave implications of this possibility leave a lot to be desired. When viewed in the context of a similar raid on the premises of Supreme Court Justices in 2016, the rationale of which was never fully explained or indeed justified, the NBA interprets last night’s incident as a part of an orchestrated affront on the judiciary, designed to intimidate and ridicule the judiciary.”
The NBA, he said, would no longer allow this to continue.
“In case the law enforcement agencies have not learnt their lessons, events like this do nothing but erode the independence of sacred democratic institutions like the judiciary, undermine the rule of law in Nigeria, and set the country back in the quest to instill confidence in citizens of Nigeria, Nigerian businesses, and foreign investors that Nigeria operates a democracy with an independent Judiciary,” he said.
Akpata said, “I have spoken with My Lord, Peter-Odili JSC and I am happy to report that she is alive and well. Beyond that however, it is my pledge to Nigerians that the NBA will get to the root of this matter.”
Meanwhile, the AGF, in a statement on Saturday by his Special Assistant, Media and Public Relations, Dr Umar Gwandu, distanced himself from the operation.
The statement quoted him as ordering a probe into the circumstances surrounding the raid of the Justice’s home.
“It is important to set the record straight that as the Chief Law Officer of the federation, Malami, will not stop low to be associated with an inelegant and nasty court process on the strength of which the purported search warrant was procured.
“The media reports on the issue depict too untidy process that could never emanate from the Office of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,” Gwandu’s statement read in part.
