Court Revokes FG’s Illegal Search Warrant on Justice Odili’s House

Steve Aya

The search warrant granted to the Joint Panel Recovery Unit of the Federal Ministry of Justice to search the home of Supreme Court Justice Mary Peter-Odili, has been revoked by a Chief Magistrate Court. In an order issued on Friday night, the Chief Magistrate accused the Government and its agents of misleading the court.

The order read, “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.”

The Joint Panel Recovery unit, which comprises the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Nigeria Police and the Ministry of Justice, had obtained a search warrant from the Magistrate’s court after a whistleblower, Aliyu Umar, claimed to have observed illegal activities going on 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.

Armed with the search warrant, the Police and other members of the Panel stormed the house which turned out to be the home of Supreme Court Justice and second most senior Judicial Officer in Nigeria, Mary Peter-Odili, who is also the wife of former Governor of Rivers State, Dr Peter Odili. She was said to have resisted the attempts by the Policemen to search her house, insisting that the house belonged to her and not her husband.

But, EFCC Spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said, in a statement, that the Commission had no hand in the matter, and advised members of the public to disregard any news to the contrary.

Dr Peter Odili, who was Governor from 1999 to 2007, obtained a perpetual injunction from the Federal High Court in 2007, which barred the EFCC from investigating or prosecuting him. In 2020, he again approached the Federal High Court, 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 Dr Odili’s passport as part of a probe. Justice Inyang Ekwo, however, ordered Immigration to release the passport to Dr Odili immediately.