*Commends NBA For Condemning The Raid And Convening Emergency To Decide On Possible Next Steps
*Says The Raid Should Not Go Unpunished
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The Pioneer Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law, NBA-SPIDEL, Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN, has condemned the raid of the residence of the Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili.
Gadzama, in a statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer, expressed concern that 48 hours after the raid, no explanation has been given and no one seems to be claiming responsibility.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the continuous raid of residences of judicial officers will lead to anarchy is not arrested.
He said, “On Friday, the 29th day of October, 2021, while in Port Harcourt for the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, I received with much disappointment the news of the raid on Honourable Justice Mary Peter Odili’s residence. I have waited patiently to read further on the possible justifiable rationale for such Gestapo show of might, but all to no avail. It is now more than 48 hours after the said raid and information is still scarce and far in-between as to the rationale for the raid on the residence of the second most senior judicial officer in Nigeria. It is a case of loud deafening silence and a game of blame game. No one seems to be claiming responsibility and no one seems to be offering further explanations on who is/was responsible for such a dastardly act of rascality and impunity aimed at soiling the garment of our judiciary.
“These trends of habitual unjustified raids on the 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.”
Chief Gadzama commended the NBA for condemning the act and convening an emergency meeting for possible steps regarding the issue. He emphatically condemned the raid of the Supreme Court Justice. According to him, the raid was aimed at Intimidating the judiciary. He called for an investigation on the matter for and those find culpable he punished.
He said, “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 believed to be security operatives.
“God Bless the NBA,
God Bless the Judiciary,
God Bless Nigeria.”
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