By Gideon Njoku
Fifteen suspects arrested in connection with the inexplicable invasion of the home of a Justice of the Supreme Court, Mary Peter-Odili, were on Wednesday, December 15, at about 8.30 pm, granted bail to the tune of five million Naira, and two sureties each. However, pending when they will fulfill the bail conditions, the Judge, Hon Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha, ordered that they be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
The only female among them, Hajiya Maimuna Maishanu, was remanded at the Suleja Correctional Centre.
In an 18 Count Amended Charges filed before a Federal High Court, Abuja, on December 14, the Inspector General of Police, arraigned them in the afternoon of December 15, 2020.
The suspects were arrested following the infamous invasion of Justice Peter-Odili’s home on October 29, 2021.
They said they were there as members of the Assets Recovery Unit, under the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.
They had obtained a search warrant signed by a Magistrate, Emmanuel Iyanna, following a petition, allegedly, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by a self-acclaimed whistle blower, Aliyu Umar Ibrahim.
Ibrahim, in the alleged petition, said he has information that millions of money in foreign exchange were in the Justice’s home.
Iyanna was to revoke the search warrant within hours, claiming he was deceived into granting it. Lawrence Ajojo, who led the team to Justice Peter-Odili’s home, was found to be a fake DSP.
Arraigning the suspects before the Court, the Police said they were engaged in an unlawful invasion of Justice Peter-Odili’s home after cunningly obtaining a search warrant from a Magistrate Court.
The Police told the Court that the suspects, falsely claiming to be working for a fake Assets Recovery Unit under the Federal Ministry of Justice, invaded Peter-Odili’s home with forged documents and forged Identification cards.
The prosecution said they were there to extort and harass the Odili family.
All the 15 suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. Their individual Lawyers, thereafter, asked for bail for them on liberal terms.
But the prosecuting Police Lawyer, CSP Mathew Amosun, while not against the bail, asked that it be granted them on stringent terms.
Justice Maha stood down the case for two hours, and on return, said there was no reason not to grant them bail.
Five suspects, including two soldiers, are at large. Those arraigned in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/436/2021, were: Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP Mohammed Yahaya, fake DSP, Adjodo Lawrence (aka, Ola Ojo), Michael Diete-Spiff, Barristers Akex Onyekuru and Igwe Ernest, as well as a Journalist, Stanley Nkwazema.
Arraigned, also were: Bayero Lawal ( aka, Director, EFCC), Hajiya Maimuna Maishanu, Ayodele Akindipe (aka Herbalist), Yusuf Adaiu (aka godson to Peter Odili), Bashir Musa, Shehu Jibo, Abdulahi Adamu, and Abdulahi Usman said to be an Immigration Officer.
The case has been adjourned to January 12, 2022.
The seige on Justice Peter-Odili’s home sparked a national outrage, with every security agency denying knowledge of it.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, also denied knowledge of it.
However, Lawrence Adjojo, while admitting he is a fake DSP, claim he is a Consultant to Malami, a claim Malami vehemently denied.
