Published 30th Oct, 2021

By Daniel Ojukwu

Friday night’s raid of Mary Odili’s residence continues to be shrouded in mystery as security agencies deny investigating the supreme court justice despite obtaining a warrant to do so.

Footage emerged in the late hours of Friday showing security operatives with a search warrant around Odili’s house.

However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the State Security Services (SSS) have distanced themselves from the raid.

In a statement released by the EFCC on Friday and titled ‘EFCC Did Not Carry Out Any Operation in Justice Odili’s Home,’ the anti-graft agency asked the public to disregard claims that he carried out the operation.

“If there was any such operation as claimed by the media, it was not carried out by the EFCC,” the statement read in part.

The State Security Service (SSS) which had conducted similar raids on the homes of several judges, including supreme court Justice Sylvester Ngwuta who is now deceased, also told Premium Times it was not responsible for the invasion of Mary’s home.

When contacted, Josephine Adeh, the Abuja police spokesperson, told FIJ her command was not responsible for the raid. FIJ placed multiple calls to Frank Mba, Federal Police Public Relations Officer, but they were not answered. At press time, a text message sent to him had also not been responded to.

Meanwhile, a chief magistrates’ court on Saturday revoked the search warrant granted to the Joint Panel Recovery unit of the Federal Ministry of Justice to search Odili’s residence.

The panel, comprising the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigeria Police Force and the Ministry of Justice had obtained a search warrant from the magistrates’ court after Aliyu Umar, a whistleblower, claimed to have observed illegal activities going on at No. 9, Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja, according to a report by PUNCH.

Umar’s affidavit dated October 13, 2021, reads: “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.”

The panel then approached Justice Emmanuel Iyanna’s court in Abuja, seeking a search warrant to search the house, and the magistrate approved the search warrant on Friday, shortly before the raid.

Iyanna, upon realising the facts of the matter, accused the federal government of misleading the court, and then revoked the warrant with a court order.

The order reads, “Upon misrepresentation to this honourable court that led to the issuance of a search warrant in favour of Joint Panel Recovery, Ministry of Justice, against House 9, Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja, dated October 29, 2021, in view of the above fact, the said search warrant is hereby revoked.”

Mary is the most senior supreme court justice after Tanko Muhammad, the current Chief Justice of Nigeria (C JN). Her husband, Peter Odili, a former Rivers State governor, is currently being investigated by the EFCC.

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