Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), has called on the Nigerian Bar Association to probe and sanction the lawyers involved in the raid on the home of Supreme Court Justice, Mary Odili.
Falana said this in a statement on Saturday titled, “Let the NBA Probe the Invasion of Justice Mary Peter-Odili’s Residence.”
The statement was issued shortly after the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, distanced himself from the raid on Odili’s Abuja home by policemen after a search warrant was executed on the home.
Justice Odili House Invasion: We’ll Not Tolerate Another Intimidation —NBA
Both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Department of State Service, which are members of a committee in the Ministry of Justice that allegedly procured the warrant, have denied having a role in the incident.
The Magistrate, Emmanuel Iyanna, who issued the search warrant, later revoked it, accusing the applicants of deceiving the court.
Malami subsequently said he had asked security agencies to probe the incident.
Reacting, however, Falana said it would not be proper to ask the police to probe the incident when they were the ones involved in the raid.
The statement read in part, “Who instructed the legal practitioner that applied for the search warrant?
Chief Magistrate Regrets Issuing Search Warrant Order On Supreme Court Justice Odili’s Residence
“The Attorney-General has asked the police to probe the execution of the search warrant. In view of the involvement of police personnel in the operation, the police should not be allowed to probe the incident.
“The Nigerian Bar Association should investigate the involvement of members of the legal profession in the reckless abuse of the fundamental right of Justice Peter-Odili to privacy guaranteed by section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
“The lawyers that are indicted should be dragged to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for sanctions.”
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