Victor EzejaAS issue of the raid of Nigeria’s Supreme Court Justice, Mary Odili’s residence in Abuja on Friday by security officers rages, an Igbo Chieftain, Goddy Uwazurike has reacted to the development, saying it was a calculated attempt to intimidate the woman and her social standing.
Justice Odili who is the second most senior Justice of the Supreme Court is the wife of former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili.
In a chat with Prime Business Africa, Chief Uwazurike said the security officers carried out the act with the aim of intimidating her but pretending not to be up for such a gambit.
He pointed out that Nigeria’s system abhors independence of the judiciary which is ideal in every democratic system, hence the incessant abuse of judicial officers by the executive arm of government.
He said, “The security forces just want to intimidate the Justice without appearing to do so. Free and independent judiciary will continue to be an anathema.”
Uwazuike who is a legal luminary observed that there are cases in which houses of some senior judicial officers were raided in the past by DSS who claimed to have recovered cash during the operations, but which were never accounted for by the agency after the controversy ended.
“If you remember, the DSS raided the homes of some judges and presented humongous sums of money as what was recovered from the search. Till today, there is no word on the whereabouts of the money.
“Immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria was accused of every financial crime and he had to retire prematurely.
“Now, it’s the turn of Justice Odili to be needed up,” Chief Uwazurike stated.
The Security officers acting on a claim by a whistleblower, Aliyu Umar, that there are illegal activities going on at Justice Odili’s residence, obtained a search warrant from Magistrate Court, Wuse Abuja, and on Friday raided the house located at No 9 Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja. The action has attracted wide condemnation from members of the public.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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