Following reports that Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday stormed the Maitama home of Supreme Court Judge, Justice Mary Odili, in Abuja and the denial by EFCC that its operatives were not part of it, Police authorities at Force headquarters have kept mute on the matter.
Recall that there were reports that operatives who were accompanied by policemen, went to the judge’s home to execute a search warrant as part of investigations into her husband, Peter Odili, who is a former Governor of Rivers State.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that the the search warrant was granted to the Joint Panel Recovery unit of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
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The panel is made up of the Nigerian police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Ministry of Justice. They had obtained the warrant from a magistrates’ court after a whistleblower, Aliyu Umar, claimed to have observed ‘illegal activities’ going on in the residence situated at No. 9, Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja.
Umar’s affidavit dated October 13, 2021, read in part, ‘I have observed some illegal activities going on in those houses within Abuja are illegal and hereby report the said matter to the law enforcement agency. I hereby state that all information provided by me to the EFCC is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.’
In a second affidavit deposed to by a senior police officer, CSP Lawrence Ajodo, the panel applied to the chief magistrate in Abuja seeking a search warrant to search the house. The Chief Magistrate, Emmanuel Iyanna, subsequently approved the search warrant on October 29, 2021.
Reacting to the incident, Nyesom Wike the Governor of Rivers state quickly rushed to the home of the Supreme Court judge. The Governor arrived minutes after army and police operatives stormed the home of the Supreme Court Justice and he arrived in the company of Abiye Sekibo, former Minister of transportation; Raymond Dokpesi, founder of DAAR communications; Austin Opara, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives; Okon Aniete and Lee Maeba, a former senator.
Odili, who was a governor from 1999 to 2007, had obtained a perpetual injunction from a Federal High Court in 2007 which barred the EFCC from investigating or prosecuting him.
In 2020, he approached a Federal High Court again to get another injunction to stop an impending probe.
Last month, the former governor sued the Nigeria Immigration Service for seizing his passport at the airport. In its response, however, the NIS said it was the EFCC that asked it to seize Odili’s passport as part of a probe.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, however, ordered immigration to release the passport to Odili immediately.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK