The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, in Abuja broke its silence on the alleged unlawful invasion of Justice Mary Odili residence by unknown security operatives, describing it as impunity taken too far.
The apex court warned that the judiciary should not be misconstrued by any individual or institution of government as the whipping boy among the three arms of government.
In its first reaction to the incident, the Supreme Court, in a statement by its Director of Press and Information, Dr Festus Akande, said the attack was uncivilised and a shameful show of primitive force on innocent judicial officers.
The statement reads in part: “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, Justice Mary Peter Odili, on Friday 29th October, 2021 in a Gestapo manner.
“The attack 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 uncivilised 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.
“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.
“We wish to make it abundantly clear that the Nigerian judiciary is the third arm of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and 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.
“The judiciary should never be misconstrued by any individual or institution of government as the whipping boy among the three arms of government that must always be chastised and ridiculed to silence because of our conservative disposition.
“We have commenced a full-scale independent investigation to unravel the true masquerades behind the mystery as well as the real motives behind the whole imbroglio. “Similarly, we call on the Inspector-General of Police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to rise up to the occasion by carrying out a discreet investigation and make his findings known to the Nigerian public with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, the body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) on Tuesday confronted the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, over the invasion of the Abuja residence of Justice Odili.
Leader of the aggrieved senior lawyers, Chief Solomon Awomolo, said they were concerned about the incident, insisting that government must unearth those behind the national disgrace.
“We have come to see the AGF concerning the unfortunate and ugly invasion of the resident of Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court last Friday by yet-tobe identified security operatives.
“When judges’ lives, careers, security, safety and independence are threatened, then democracy is also threatened. The AGF has said he did not have knowledge of the incident and he had written a letter of complaint to the Inspector-General of Police for a thorough investigation as demonstration of his sincerity.
“This incident appears to be in isolation but we cannot let it be swept under the carpet. The incident must be investigated thoroughly. Nigerians are interested in this matter. It should not be politicised; it’s a matter of grave, political and constitutional importance,” Awomolo remarked.
In another development, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday alleged that the assault on Justice Odili is a renewed plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hijack the 2023 election, “as it did in 2019.”
In a statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary, the main opposition party described the invasion of her residence as “horrendous, rascally, irresponsible and completely unjustified.”
It added that “Nigerians can recall how respected judges were assaulted by the APC administration through obnoxious sting operations in a bid to arm-twist the judiciary and set the stage for the endorsement of a culture of impunity that characterised the 2019 elections.”
The party, therefore, urged the judiciary to remain firm and not be deterred by the suppressive proclivities of the ruling party.
