Wike gives FG 48 hours to fish out those behind invasion of Odili’s home

• NBA reacts: Judiciary will not be intimidated

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has given the Federal Government 48 hours to unmask those behind the invasion of the Abuja home of former Governor, Peter Odili, and his wife, Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court.

Wike described the action of the invaders who claimed to have come from the Ministry of Justice, Abuja, as an attempt on the lives of the Odilis.

The team, armed with a search warrant issued by Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna of Wuse Zone 6 magisterial division, had invaded the Odili residence, on Friday. It was however prevented by security personnel attached to the residence from executing the warrant.

Iyanna later revoked the search warrant, claiming he was misled by officials who claimed to have come from the Ministry of Justice.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has dissociated his office from the messy incident while announcing a probe.

Likewise, the various security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), have exonerated themselves from the national embarrassment by the team which called itself ‘Joint Panel Recovery Under the Ministry of Justice’.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday alongside some leaders of thought from Rivers State, Wike argued that it was insufficient for the federal government and its officials, particularly the Attorney General, to merely deny their involvement in the invasion.

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“The onus is on the Federal Government to come out and prove that they are not involved because mere denial is not enough, we are giving them 48 hours to unmask those behind the invasion and tell the world what they have done,” Wike said.

Asked what action he intends to take if the demand was not met at the end of the ultimatum, Wike said: “Let the ultimatum end first.”

He said it was not a mere coincidence that after participating in the Bayelsa State election panel, some people entered Justice Odili’s house, but the government kept quiet while her husband and former governor Peter Odili’s passport was also seized on his return from abroad.

Describing the incident as an attempt on the lives of the ex-governor, his wife and other members of his family, he warned that his state and its people would hold the Federal Government responsible should anything untoward happen to any member of the Odili family.

He said as a responsible government it ought not to have taken 24 hours for it to tell Nigerians what actually happened, since the names of the police officer, the supposed whistleblower, the Chief Magistrate and other key players in the sad episode were already in the public domain.

At the gathering were members of the National Assembly, House of Assembly and local government chairmen, among others, from Rivers.

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Gov Wike commended the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for its prompt reaction on the matter and urged the body to take further steps to see to the end of the matter.

President of the NBA, Mr. Olumide Akpata, had said in a statement that he would convene an emergency meeting of the NBA National Executive Committee to discuss the issue and take a definitive stand on behalf of the association.

He also pledged to lead a delegation to Malami and the relevant heads of security agencies to seek further clarification on the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Akpata said the AGF’s denunciation of the raid “implies that the residence of the second most senior judicial officer in Nigeria was raided by rogue security agencies.”

He added: “The grave implications of this possibility leave a lot to be desired.”

He said when viewed in the context of a similar raid on the premises of Supreme Court Justices in 2016, the NBA interpreted the latest incident as part of an orchestrated affront designed to intimidate and ridicule the Judiciary.

The NBA, he vowed, “will no longer allow this to continue.”