Group condemns invasion of Justice Mary Odili’s house by security operatives

***Demand Apology From Government

ABUJA – A Civil Society group, Concerned Nigerians has asked Nigerian government to apologise to Justice Mary Odili of Supreme Court over the invasion of her house by the security operatives on Friday night.

The group therefore called for the sanction of those involved  in the show of shame beginning with the Magistrate who issued the search warrant without satisfying himself that the minimum requirement has been met.

In a statement signed by the  Spokesperson of the group, Theophilus Abuh Agada described the invasion as abuse of power against the second most senior Justice to Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad and flagrant breach of her constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy.

The statement read ” You will recall on October 29, 2021, a team of security operatives reported to be a combination of the EFCC, Nigerian Police and DSS agents, stormed the Hon Justice Odili’s official apartment in Maitama, Abuja, in an attempt to execute a search warrant issued by a chief magistrate, Emmanuel Iyanna, in the F.C.T judiciary.

“Concerned Nigerians join the rest of Nigerians in condemning this heinous abuse of power against Justice Odili, the Supreme Court’s second most senior justice behind the present Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad.”

“It is ironic to note that on a day the Nigerian Bar Association drew the curtain on its annual conference, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where the rule of law was a reoccurring theme, state agents, posing as security officers, invaded the home of a Nigerian Supreme Court Justice, on the basis of a worthless affidavit deposed to by a whistle blower and an unidentified police officer.” 

“We note with concern that the EFCC and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation have denied been involved in the raid, while the Nigerian army and the Nigerian police have refused to issue any statement on the raid. We must categorically state that this is an attempt to intimate the Honourable Justice Odili and the entire judiciary in general. The Buhari administration must recognize that the foundation of a democratic government lies in the unwavering adherence to the principles of the rule of law and respect for fundamental human rights.”

“We, therefore, demand that everyone remotely involved in this show of shame must be held accountable and sanctioned, beginning with the Magistrate who issued the search warrant without satisfying himself that the minimum requirement has been met.

“We also demand that the Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency, issue an apology to the Hon Justice Mary Peter-Odili for the unwarranted invasion of her apartment and flagrant breach of her constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy.”

“Finally, we call on the authorities to launch an investigation into this needless and unfortunate attack on the judiciary.”