The House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary has called for an investigation into the raid on the home of Mary Odili, a justice of the Supreme Court.
The committee, in a press statement signed by the Chairman of the Committee, Luke Onofiok (PDP) on Sunday in Abuja, said the probe should unmask those behind the warrant used in carrying out the raid.
The Abuja home of Mrs Odili, the wife of a former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, was raided by security agents last week, acting on a search warrant issued by a magistrate.
Mr Odili, who was governor of the oil-rich state from 1999-2007, got a judgement at Federal High Court in Abuja against the Economic and Finance Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other agencies, restraining the commission and others from arresting or prosecuting him.
The court’s orders followed a suit that was instituted by Mr Odili against the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for impounding his international passport upon his return to Nigeria from the United Kingdom in June this year.
The NIS in its defence had informed the presiding judge that it seized Mr Odili’s travelling documents based on a request by the EFCC.
The EFCC in a press statement on Friday denied involvement in the raid. The State Security Services (SSS) were involved in the raid.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had also condemned the raid on the jurist’s house and called for probe.
Mr Onofiok said the raid further exposed the judiciary to public opprobrium due to the manner the search warrant was procured.
The lawmaker expressed concerns that the “warrant was revoked by the issuing Magistrate who had discovered that it was procured by the Applicant on the premises of misrepresented facts.”
He added that the “development is also a wake-up call to tighten administrative and supervisory control over the operations of law enforcement agencies in the Country.”
While calling for investigation, Mr Onofiok said “the confidence and respect of citizens in the judiciary may likely wane if incidence of this nature continues unchecked.
“On this note, the House of Representative Committee on the Judiciary calls for a discreet investigation to unravel the persons behind this ignoble act, which is capable of straining the existing relationship between the Judiciary and the Executive arms of our democratic government,” he said.
Mrs Odili is currently the second most senior Justice of the Supreme Court and she is due to retire in 2022.
