Odili’s Residence Raid: NBA Wades In, Vows To Challenge Harassment Of Judicial Officers

Following the recent raid of the Abuja residence of Justice Mary Odili, a Justice of the Supreme Court, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has called for an emergency meeting of its executive committee to discuss the development.

Olumide Akpata, NBA President, announced this in a statement he published on Twitter on Saturday.

Personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army on Friday stormed the residence of Justice Odili, who is the wife of Peter Odili, a former two-term governor of Rivers State, with a supposed warrant to search the home.

According to Akpata, the association will meet with relevant stakeholders for clarification and ensure those who orchestrated the incident are brought to book.

He also stated that the NBA will, henceforth, challenge the harassment of judicial officers by security operatives

The statement read: “In line with the aims and objectives of the NBA to protect and defend the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law, we will convene an emergency meeting of the NBA National Executive Committee solely to discuss this issue and take a definitive stand on behalf of the NBA.

‘I will lead a delegation to the Honourable AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the relevant heads of security agencies to seek further clarification on the circumstances of this incident.

“We will ensure those responsible for this unfortunate incident are brought to book. We must do all that is required to safeguard the independence of our judiciary and indeed protect our hard-won democracy.”