Outrages over the aborted search by security operatives of Justice Mary Odili’s house has continued as the pioneer Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL), Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN), has urged the Federal Government not to shy away from identifying and punishing those involved in the controversial raid of Justice Odili’s Abuja home.
Gadzama, who described the invasion and the purported search plan as “a siege on the sanctity of our nation’s judiciary, rule of law and the doctrine of judicial independence”, condemned the raid unequivocally.
“This must not be left to go unpunished. I further call for an urgent investigation to help fish-out the perpetrators.”
The leading member of the Bar equally used the opportunity to praise the NBA under the leadership of Olumide Akpata “for issuing a statement, and with the speed of light too, therein condemning such act of rascality and taking further steps to 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.”
Gadzama lauded the NBA on the recently concluded 61st conference of Nigerian lawyers in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He urged Nigerian lawyers to make use of what they learnt at the lawyers’ conference to improve on their practice as well as promoting the rule of law.
Stating that raids on Judges apartments are becoming unnecessary and embarrassing, Gadzama noted, “These trends of habitual unjustified raids on residences of Judicial Officers, the concomitant unexplained reasons and continuous rape of due process, spell imminent doom and anarchy if not urgently arrested.
“Lest our collective silence be misinterpreted as our collective approval, this is a further call that the tenets upon which our society was founded be restored: rule of law. We must take heed to the words of Martin Luther King Jnr, when he said that the “the ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people”. The danger of our silence in the face of apparent injustice and anarchy cannot be overemphasized. It is the utmost form of betrayal.
“I must, therefore, commend the Nigerian Bar Association, under the leadership of Olumide Akpata, for issuing a statement, and with the speed of light too, therein condemning such act of rascality and taking further steps to 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. While I commend this initiative, I must emphasize that all must be emphatic that it is gravely unpardonable to assault, trample upon, attempt to intimidate and/ or harass the judiciary which is the last hope of the common man. Indeed, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
“It is even more abhorrent that the rationale for the present raid on Hon Justice Mary Peter Odili’s residence has not been explained or justified, the incident could therefore only be interpreted as an attack on the Judiciary, possibly designed to intimidate and ridicule the Judiciary.
“We must remember that Nigeria’s democracy is not made up of only the executive, but the legislature and the judiciary. Borrowing from the words of Caroline Kennedy, which now reflect the needs and realities of our space, “the very bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing.” An independent judiciary is indeed the crown jewel of any democracy and Nigeria is no different.
“As the Pioneer Chairman of the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) whose commitment is towards maintenance of public law and order, the very fulcrum upon which the society stands and thrives, I condemn, in very strong terms, the raid on the residence of Honourable Justice Mary Peter Odili, JSC, and make bold to aver that it is a siege on the sanctity of our nation’s judiciary, rule of law and the doctrine of judicial independence. This must not be left to go unpunished. I further call for an urgent investigation to help fish-out the perpetrators”, he added.
