If an allegation that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, was the mastermind of a recent invasion of the home of Supreme Court Justice Mary Odili is found to be water tight, he is a goner, a source in the Presidency told FirstNews on Friday.
However, the AGF on Friday denied an arrested suspect’s confession linking him to some security operatives’ recent invasion of the home of a Justice of the Supreme Court, Mary Odili.
The suspect, Lawrence Ajodo had, while being paraded by the police headquarters along with 13 other suspects said that he was a consultant engaged by Malami and not a police officer as he had claimed to be.
Purporting to be a chief superintendent of police, Ajodo had applied to the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, for a search warrant which the invading security operatives had tried to execute at Justice Odili’s home on Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja, on October 29.
He claimed in the court document to be acting on behalf of a joint team on assets recovery allegedly being coordinated by the Malami-led Federal Ministry of Justice.
The application, according to him, was necessitated by a whistleblower’s information giving a hint of alleged criminal activities taking place in the home of Odili, who is the wife of a former governor of Rivers State.
Amid wide condemnation of the invasion of Odili’s home, Malami, and the Inspector-General of Police Usman Baba, as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the State Security Service (SSS), separately distanced themselves from the operation.
But Ajodo insisted he worked for Malami, saying, “I am not an officer of the Nigeria Police but a consultant for the AGF.”
Reacting to the confession however, Malami, in a statement by his spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, described Ajodo’s claim as “a case of a drowning man scavenging for a dying partner.”
The AGF said he could not have engaged the services of a “fake” police officer when the Justice Ministry boasts of “high level professionals and capable human resources”.
He challenged Ajodo to present documentary evidence of engagement as a “consultant” by the office of the AGF.
“Consultant for what? Which activity or assignment? When was he engaged? What were the terms of references for the alleged consultancy service?” Malami queried.
The AGF assured that being Nigeria’s chief law officer, he would not undermine the sanctity of his office as well as the judiciary.
Ajodo’s confession comes days after the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) expressed doubts about the denials by Malami and other relevant government agencies.
Reacting, NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata, said the roles of the Abuja magistrate, Emmanuel Iyanna, who issued the controversial search warrant, would be investigated.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday Akpata described the raid as an assault on the judiciary.
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to set up an independent panel of inquiry to investigate Malami and others to unravel who authorised the operation.
Akpata said the NBA rejected the panel of investigation which Malami promised to put in place, because “he cannot subject himself to a panel that he set up.”
He noted that Malami had reportedly agreed to appear for investigation, a development he said “is consistent with the position of the National Executive Council of the NBA, to the effect that the Attorney General definitely has questions to answer.”
“This is why the panel to be set up by the President is very necessary,” Akpata noted.
In addition to the envisaged presidential panel of inquiry, Akpata also announced the setting up of a team of special investigators to lead NBA’s probe into the October 29 incident at the home of Mrs Odili.
The NBA’s special team is to be led by a former 2nd vice-president of the association, Monday Ubani.
Akpata also said the roles of the Abuja magistrate, Emmanuel Iyanna, who issued the controversial search warrant, would be investigated.
The magistrate had reportedly withdrawn the search warrant that same day, on the grounds that he was misled to issue it.
Similarly, the occupants of 18 Tunis Street at Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, the purported office address of the non-existent Joint Panel Recovery unit in the Ministry of Justice, have written a disclaimer to the AGF.
Ndarani (SAN) & Co, a private law firm occupying 18 Tunis Street in Wuse Zone 6, said Mr Ajodo had no working relationship with the firm.
“Any attempt by the said Lawrenec Ajodo under any guise to associate himself with 18 Tunis Street, Wuse Zone 6, Abuja which is our law firm’s corporate address is borne purely out of his inordinate and sinister motive,” the disclaimer dated November 2, 2021 read.
A copy of the letter to the AGF which was seen by this reporter, urged the minister and other security agencies to scrutinise Mr Ajodo’s activities.
A visit by our correspondent to the fictitious address, showed that there is no other occupant of the building apart from the law firm.
“We are the only occupant of this property. We were surprised and embarrassed to read in the media about the incident coming from our office address,” a staffer of the law firm who asked not to be named told this reporter.
Mr Ajodo, had applied for and obtained a search warrant from the Wuse Zone 6 magistrate’s court in Abuja, for execution on the Maitama, Abuja residence of Mrs Odili, who is the second most senior justice of the apex court.
Ajodo claimed, in the court document, to be acting on behalf of a certain joint asset recovery team allegedly being coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Justice.
He said the application was based on an ongoing investigation into whistleblower information suggesting that “criminal activities” were taking place in the house.
‘Security operatives’ invaded the home on October 29 to execute the search warrant obtained from the magistrate’s court, but it was doubtful they were able to gain entry.