From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has charged the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, to unravel the real motive behind the recent invasion of the residence of Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Mary Odili.
The governor said it was curious that weeks after the invasion, the Magistrate who issued the search warrant has not been interrogated to account for his action.
Governor Wike stated this when he led a delegation of Rivers’ elders and elected representatives to the IGP at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The governor, who commended the IGP and his team for the arrest of some of the suspects, however, charged the Police to get to the root of the matter in order to ensure that all those directly or indirectly involved face the full wrath of the law.
“We believe we should get to the root of this matter and anybody who is directly or indirectly involved should face the wrath of the law. It does not matter the person’s position. That is the only way somebody can stop saying if a Justice of Supreme Court, second in command, could face this, what about the ordinary people, what will happen? I am quite confident that you will unravel whatever that has happened.”
The governor expressed concern that if all culprits were not arrested and prosecuted, law abiding citizens would be reluctant to grant access to their residence to anyone that brandishes a search warrant at them.
Governor Wike pointed out that the October 29 incident has generated a lot of misgiving and negative perception about the activities of some security agencies.
According to him, the only way public confidence in security agencies can be restored, is when all those who engaged in the despicable act, are exposed and punished in accordance with extant laws of the land.
The governor said the government and people of Rivers State were concerned that the Magistrate, who issued the search warrant has not been quizzed to determine the motive for his action.
“Nobody has said anything about the magistrate, and we believe that the magistrate is not unknown.”
Governor Wike, commended the IGP for being apolitical and professional in the discharge of his constitutional responsibility.
IG Baba said the suspects involved in the invasion of Justice Mary Odili’s residence were still in police custody amid ongoing investigation.
On the issue of the magistrate who issued the search warrant, the IGP explained that the police had written to the Chief Registrar of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) requesting for his release, but instead his statement was submitted to the police.
“We wrote a letter to the Chief Registrar of FCT to release the magistrate, and instead of releasing him, they replied our letter, plus his statement to us. So, we don’t want to pick any quarrel. What we needed was the statement. We are working with the statement. He has not denied the fact that he has issued a search warrant and that is what we wanted to confirm.”
The IGP said based on Ajodo’s statement, the police had interviewed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, who denied knowing Ajodo.