The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said the court processes leading to the security operatives’ invasion of the Abuja residence of a Justice of the Supreme Court, Mary Odili, on Friday, has criminal overtones.
Mr Malami said this in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, on Saturday to deny his involvement in the raid.
Mr Gwandu, had earlier denied the minister’s involvement in the raid in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, citing irregularities in the documents filed before a magistrate’s court in Abuja to obtain a search warrant which the invading security operatives tried to execute at Mrs Odili’s home on Friday.
Elaborating on the alleged irregularities in a statement on Saturday, Mr Gwandu maintained that there was no unit like the ‘Joint Panel Recovery’ which was said to have applied for the search warrant in the Federal Ministry of Justice.
“What we have is ‘Assets Recovery and Management Unit’ the mandate of which does not include stings operations,” the statement said.
It said numerous “incongruities” in the documents circulated in relation to the saga “revealed traces of criminal actions”.
Among others he cited alleged incongruities in the documents, was the name on the letterhead – ‘Ghost’s Account For Local Whistle Blowers & Assets Tax Recovery Panel’.
He also pointed out alleged “ambiguous reference to ‘Ministry of Justice’ without clarifying as to whether it is Federal or State Ministry and of which state’.
He added that office address on the letterhead “is not the address of the Federal Ministry of Justice”.
He also counted the e-mail address on the letter as part of the irregularities showing the document had nothing to do with the AGF office.
“All these deductions would have assisted a discerning mind to arrive at a reasonable conclusion of criminal undertones associated with the court process on the basis of which the purported search warrant was procured,” the statement said.
Investigations
Mr Malami also indicated that he had reached out to police authorities to intensify investigations and prosecute those involved in the matter.
“The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has since reached out to the relevant authorities for an intensified wider investigation on the matter for necessary actions leading to the prosecution of anyone involved in the matter in view of the fact that the only names on record from the process filed in court are a purported police officer who claimed to be “O/C Assets Recovery Team” and one Aliyu Umar a deponent in the affidavit,” the statement added.
Security operatives invaded Mrs Odili’s home in Maitama, an upscale part of Abuja, on Friday.
Both the State Security Service (SSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had denied being part of the raid.
The invasion brought back to mind the SSS operatives’ invasion of homes of various judges, including those of two Justices of the apex court, in 2015.
The two Supreme Court justices were Sylvester Ngwuta (now deceased), and John Okoro. A home of a now retired judge of the Federal High Court, Adeniyi Ademola, was also invaded.
Both Messrs Ngwuta and Ademola were prosecuted by the AGF office, but the cases were struck out by the trial courts in the end.
READ FULL STATEMENT
Justice Odili: I was not involved, Count me Out, says Malami
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN was not in any way connected with the fabrications and concocted lies linking him to the ensued imbroglio relating to news stories about the residence of a Justice of the Supreme Court; Justice Mary Odili.
This is made known in a statement by Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and made available to newsmen on Saturday the 30th day of October, 2021.
He said the clarification to debunk the mischievous publication became imperative in view of the media hype and the dimension the story is taking.
It is important to set the record straight that as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation, Malami will not stoop too low to be associated with an apparent in-elegant and nasty court process on the strength of which the purported search warrant was procured.
The media reports on the issue depict too untidy process that could never emanate from the Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
The general public need to know that there was nothing called “Joint Panel Recovery Under the Ministry of Justice” in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and by extension the entire Federal Ministry of Justice.
What we have is “Assets Recovery and Management Unit” the mandate of which does not include stings operations.
Numerous incongruities in the documents being circulated in relation to the saga reveal traces of criminal actions which particular regards to:
1. The name as contained on the purported letter headed paper “Ghost’s Account For Local Whistle Blowers & Assets Tax Recovery Panel”,
2. The ambiguous reference to “Ministry of Justice” without clarifying as to whether it is Federal or State Ministry and of which State,
3. The claimed office address which as revealed by the letter headed paper is not the address of the Federal Ministry of Justice
4. Email address used on the letter
All these deductions would have assisted a discerning mind to arrive at a reasonable conclusion of criminal undertones associated with the court process on the basis of which the purported search warrant was procured.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has since reached out to the relevant authorities for an intensified wider investigation on the matter for necessary actions leading to the prosecution of anyone involved in the matter in view of the fact that the only names on record from the process filed in court are a purported police officer who claimed to be “O/C Assets Recovery Team” and one Aliyu Umar a deponent in the affidavit.
The claim of the chief magistrate as reported by a section of the media to the effect that he was being misled by office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice into the issuance of the search warrant is equally forwarded to the relevant investigation agencies to ascertain veracity or otherwise of the purported association of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and which officer if any in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is associated with such claimed misrepresentation.
Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu
(Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations
Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice)
Saturday 30th October, 2021
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