Invasion of Justice Odili’s Residence, NBA President Talks Tough

President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olumide Akpata, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate steps to ensure that those behind the invasion of Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili’s residence in Abuja be unravelled and brought to book without delay.

At a media parley last Thursday, Akpata intimated the press that, with the approval of the National Executive Committee (NEC), the NBA has set up a high-powered Committee headed by Dr Monday Ubani, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack on Justice Odili, and report to the NBA on a weekly basis.

He said the NBA would ensure that all those behind the embarrassing incident are unveiled and made to face the stiff sanctions of the Association, including legal action.
Akpata said ‘As you all know, it is exactly a week to the day since we were all stunned with the news of the raid on the premises of My Lord, Peter-Odili, JSC, by a team comprised of at least two agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria. It is also public knowledge that this incident, as egregious as it sounds and truly is, is not the first under this administration.

‘In 2016, there was also a Gestapo-like invasion of the residences of some Justices of the Supreme Court and other superior court Justices and Judges, by the same security agents of the Executive arm of Government. Over four years later, the rationale for that raid has never been fully explained or indeed, justified. This latest incident has not been different.

‘Instead, what has followed has been an orgy of denials by the highest authorities in the land. Firstly, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa on the same night of the raid denied authorising the raid, or the involvement of the EFCC in the raid. The next day, the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation under whose office the team that purportedly carried out the raid is allegedly domiciled, also denounced the team.’

The NBA-NEC held an emergency meeting on Monday, 2nd November, 2021 and took very far-reaching decisions in respect of the issue at hand.
Akpata condemned the discordant voices emanating from groups within the Association, in respect of the same issue.

He said ‘Apart from the Annual General Meeting of the NBA which exercises the supreme authority of the Association, the NBA-NEC is the highest decision-making body in the Association, and when the NBA has clearly articulated a position on any matter, especially a serious one such as the invasion of the premises of a Supreme Court Justice, other groups within the Association, whether they be a body of senior or junior advocates, must rein themselves in and should refrain from muddying the waters by embarking on needless road-shows and issuing statements that only serve to portray our Association, and indeed, our approach to the issue at hand, as uncoordinated and ultimately ineffective’.

‘It is for this and other reasons that I have appointed the Chairman of the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), Dr Monday Ubani, to serve as the NBA’s Special Investigator to inter alia, unmask those behind the attack on Justice Odili’s home, and to ensure that these individuals are made to face the law.

‘It is for this reason that we are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari, to immediately set up an independent Panel of Inquiry to fish out all those that are behind this dastardly act.’

‘It is to be noted that the NBA will also call out and discipline any of our members, who is found to have been part of this despicable attempt to ridicule the Judiciary.

‘The NBA-NEC also decided to beam its searchlight on the Magistrate, Emmanuel A. Iyanna who issued the said search warrant. For the record, we are not satisfied with the volte-face by His Worship, and we believe that it is not enough for His Worship to turn around and suo motu, revoke the search warrant in the middle of the night.