From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Fresh facts have emerged to the effect that the raid carried out on the home of Supreme Court Justice Mary Odili by the Joint Panel Recovery Unit of the Federal Ministry of Justice followed a petition by a whistleblower, Aliyu Umar.
Armed with a warrant issued by the hand of an Abuja Chief Magistrate, Emmanuel Iyana, on October 29, the panel, which comprises the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigeria Police Force and the Ministry of Justice, stormed the No. 9, Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has washed his hands off the sordid development even as he ordered a full investigation.
In the said petition, which triggered the questionable raid, Umar claimed that he had observed illegal activities going on at the home. His affidavit dated October 13, 2021, read in part: “I have observed some illegal activities going on in those houses within Abuja which are illegal and hereby report the said matter to the law enforcement agency.
“I hereby state that all information provided by me to the EFCC is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.”
In a second affidavit deposed to by a senior police officer, CSP Lawrence Ajodo, the panel applied to the Chief Magistrate in Abuja seeking a search warrant to search the house.
Meanwhile, the Chief Magistrate court has revoked the search warrant on the ground that it was misled into granting the order.
The revocation order read, “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.”
Following the uproar that greeted the development, the EFCC Spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement that the commission had no hand in the matter, stressing, “If there was any such operation as claimed by the media, it was not carried out by the EFCC. The commission enjoins the public to discountenance the report.”
In the growing heat of the fallout, the Malami distanced himself from the controversial invasion of Justice Odili’s residence by security operatives.
In his reaction to the invasion, Malami said he was not in any way connected with the fabrications and concocted lies linking him to the embarrassing raid on the residence of a Justice Mary Odili. He also denied the existence of such a panel under his ministry and ordered a full-scale investigation of the matter.
Making his position known in statement by his spokesman, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Malami said that as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation, he would not stoop so low to be associated with an apparent 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. The general public needs to know that there is nothing called “Joint Panel Recovery Under the Ministry of Justice” in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and by extension the entire Federal Ministry of Justice. What we have is “Assets Recovery and Management Unit” the mandate of which does not include sting operations.
Numerous incongruities in the documents being circulated in relation to the saga reveal traces of criminal actions which particular regards to: The name as contained on the purported letterheaded paper, “Ghost Account For Local Whistle Blowers & Assets Tax Recovery Panel”, the ambiguous reference to “Ministry of Justice” without clarifying as to whether it is Federal or State Ministry and of which state; the claimed office address which as revealed by the letter-headed paper is not the address of the Federal Ministry of Justice and email address used on the letterhead. All these deductions would have assisted a discerning mind to arrive at a reasonable conclusion of criminal undertones associated with the court process on the basis of which the purported search warrant was procured.
“The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has since reached out to the relevant authorities for an intensified wider investigation on the matter for necessary action leading to the prosecution of anyone involved in the matter in view of the fact that the only names on record from the process filed in court are a purported police officer who claimed to be “O/C Assets Recovery Team” and one Aliyu Umar a deponent in the affidavit. The claim of the Chief Magistrate as reported by a section of the media to the effect that he was misled by Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice into the issuance of the search warrant is equally forwarded to the relevant investigation agencies to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the purported association of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and which officer, if any, in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is associated with such claimed misrepresentation.”
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, in a statement by his media office strongly condemned the invasion. He said: “It is with utmost disgust that we continue to witness situations whereby law enforcement agencies conduct raids on residences of senior judges in the country. Irrespective of the investigations that they pursue, such practices give expression of professional misconduct and put our country in very poor images.
“It needs not be reiterated that this is a democratic republic and every organ of the state bureaucracy, especially the security agencies, must conduct themselves in responsibility to the people of Nigeria,” Atiku said.
In similar swift reaction, Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr. Orji Kalu, described the invasion of the Abuja home of Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court as “a cruel, undemocratic and uncivilised act.”
Condemning the raid on justice’s home, Kalu called on the federal government to commence a full-scale investigation into the ugly incident, adding that the unwarranted invasion of the house of Justice Odili was capable of causing tension in the country.
Kalu, who is the former governor of Abia State, stressed that in a democratic set-up, the rule of law must be strictly adhered to for the sake of national progress and development.
His words: “The invasion of the residence of Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court in a Gestapo manner is totally condemnable and unacceptable in a democratic dispensation. The country’s democracy is gradually growing and as such acts that are not in tandem with the constitution of Nigeria and democratic process must not tolerated.
“The federal government should commence robust investigation into the sad development to save the face of the country in the comity of nations and to bring the perpetrators of the unfortunate incident to book. The rule of law must not be undermined in a democratic regime. The law must be respected by the government and the governed.”
Kalu urged the federal government to bring the perpetrators of the evil act to book, adding that unlawful invasion of a citizen’s residence is against the constitution of Nigeria and tenets of democracy.
Equally incensed by the sordid affair, former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, described the search carried out in the home of Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court Of Nigeria as a huge embarrassment and an insult on the judiciary.
Prince Secondus said that nothing could explain the embarrassing act of the security operatives on a woman who has put in much in the service of her fatherland.
He said that relevant authorities should come clean on what informed such ignoble and dishonourable behaviour and render unreserved apology to the Justice Odili and the Judiciary.
“It’s our responsibility as a democratic nation to ensure the continued sanctity of the judiciary as a critical component of democracy,” Secondus said.
Prince Secondus also noted that the development calls for more diligence on the part of judicial officers in responding to search warrant requests from overzealous officials of the executive.