November 03, (THEWILL) – The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it has commenced a full-scale independent investigation to unmask those behind the invasion of the Maitama residence of Justice Mary Odili.
The court, which described the siege on the residence by armed security operatives as impunity taken too far, warned that the judiciary should not be misconstrued by any individual or institution of government as the weeping child among the three arms of government that must always be chastised and ridiculed to silence because of its conservative disposition.
The apex court, in a statement issued by its director of press and information, Dr Festus Akande, said the “unwarranted and despicable raid” on Justice Odili’s official residence “brought back 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”.
It also called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to rise up to the occasion by carrying out a discreet investigation and making his findings known to the Nigerian public with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.
The statement reads: “We are alarmed by the news of the unwarranted and despicable raid on the official residence of one of our senior justices in the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Mary Peter Odili, on Friday 29 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 force on an innocent judicial officer that has 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 our facilities across the country, and we say, enough is enough.
“The judiciary should never be construed by any individual or institution of government as the arm of government that must always be chastised and ridiculed into silence because of our conservative disposition.
“Though there have emerged discordant tunes from the various security agencies that allegedly participated in the dastardly act, we are not lying low on this dehumanizing treatment meted out to one of our own.
“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.
“The Nigerian Judiciary cannot only bark but can also bite. We can no longer be treated with disdain and levity.
“The rule of law and constitutionality must govern our conduct so that we can tag along with the comity of nations and be taken seriously too.”
