Nigerians were bewildered on Thursday as facts emerged that the attack on the Abuja residence of Justice Mary Odili, on October 29, was the handiwork of some evil forces.
The dramatis personae in the night raid have turned out to be men who were on a mission the motive of which is yet to be ascertained, but the Supreme Court, to which the Justice belongs, their aim was to kill and to maim.
They went to Justice Odiili’s home under the pretext of searching the place for illegal activities and some dollars stashed there, armed with a so-called search warrant, which also turned out to be fake.
The prime suspect and the leader of the gang, one Lawrence Ajojo, claimed to be a consultant to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. But Malami’s office has since distanced itself from the man. Also, preliminary findings by the Police show that the man and his group were in possession of fake documents, including computer-generated ID cards and signatures. It is a web of intrigues, the end of which is not easy to fathom, at least for now.
Below are some of the official documents released so far in connection with the incident
Transcript of Police Interview with the Suspects:
Frank Mba: Whats is ur name and where are you from?
Lawrence Ajojo I am from Kogi state.
Are you a member of the Nigeria Police Force
Ajojo : no sir
Are you working in such panel under the office of the Attorney General
Ajojo: No sir
The id card was purportedly signed by the AGF, can you tell us if it was the AGF that signed it. Tell when and where he signed it
Ajojo He was not the one that signed the ID. The signature was phished from the online. I’m the one that did it.
Frank Mba: A computer, a laptop, two flash drives and a printer were recovered in his house in the course of a search that was conducted in his house and when the laptop was digitally searched, a sample of the signature of the Attorney General of the Federation was found on the computer. We also found a printer in his house and it was very easy for us to forensically and digitally connect the ID card to the computer and to the printer.
What was your motive for this operation:
Ajojo: When the whistleblower came to me and narrated. The house is number 7, not number 9. When we got to that place and we found it is a Supreme Court justice, immediately, the thing was revoked, the search warrant was not executed.
Frank Mba: Apart from the ID card bearing CSP Ojojo, another card was also recovered another ID card from him bearing ASP Ojo claiming that he works for EFCC. This is an intricate web of criminality. When we commence the prosecution, we urge to ensure you cover the proceedings because much more will come out in the course of the prosecution.
Why did you take up the job of a whistleblower?
Aliyu Umar : Let me explain. There is a mandate of 18 accounts in Nigeria given to me. I’m not from another country, this is my country. They gave me 29 accounts to recover; they did not give to any chambers; Malami gave to me but this assignment (Odili’s house raid) I went, Malami did not send me. I’m a recovery consultant. I am not a lawyer, I am a consultant. We are five employed in that office.
Stanley Nkwazeme (contributing Editor, ThisDay)
I came to the police force intelligence unit by myself when I was called by barrister Alex Onyekurwu that the police want to interview me. Nobody arrested me other than the person that said my attention was needed here. On that Sunday, I came down and they were interrogating me and I wrote a statement. My involvement is that barrister Alex Onyekoro, who is seated here called me and said there is a lead of a scoop of an asset recovery and funds that he claimed to be in a house that nobody is residing that involves millions of dollars. He now told me about Lawrence Ajojo and he promised to give me a lead. I was following Lawrence. The day we had our first meeting, I found discrepancies in his ID card. I asked him how can AGF sign the ID card of a so-called CSP? Is he from the office of the AG or from where you claim to work and he said no.
Disclaimer from Malami’s Office:
The attention of the Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has been drawn to a confession of a suspect during interrogation in the investigation of the recent invasion of the residencecof the highly respected Justice of the Supreme Court; Justice Mary Peter Odili.
With all the competent, high level professionals and capable human resources available at the disposal of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, it only takes the imagination of the evil minds to assume or think that the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice will descend so low to engaging a quack or fake police officer to serve as his consultant.
This is a case of a drowning man scavenging for a dying partner. We are happy to note that investigation has commenced to unravel the circumstances and personalities behind the invasion and sponsored campaign of calumny against the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
It is our desire and we hope that the investigation would also disclose those after the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, those dragging his personality, his name and his exalted office in the dirty politics of disrepute. This is an orchestrated attempt to stir unnecessary controversies and Public apprehension.
We asked the suspect to present documents of engagements where he worked as a consultant to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, whether in past or now.
Consultant for what? Which activity or assignment? When was he engaged? What were the terms of references for the alleged consultantancy service? When was he engaged? Where was he engaged? Which worked has he executed for the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and the Ministry of Justice? For what duration? And for how much?
We boldly and unequivocally challenge the fake consultant/police officer to come out with answers or responses to these questions to the general public.
The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice superintends over and respects the rule of law who will not do anything to undermine the sanctity of his office and that that entire judiciary and Justice sector.
Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu
(Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice)
11th day November, 2021.
Full Text of Press Release
INVASION OF ABUJA RESIDENCE OF JUSTICE MARY ODILI: POLICE ARREST 14 SUSPECTS FOR CONSPIRACY, FORGERY, PERSONATION AND CRIMINAL TRESPASS
· IGP Assures Diligent Prosecution of indicted persons
The Nigeria Police Force has arrested a total of fourteen (14) suspects including the principal suspect – a fake Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) – for complicity in the failed criminal trespass on the Abuja residence of Justice Mary Odili on Friday, 29th October, 2021. The suspects were arrested following investigations conducted by detectives from the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) which clearly revealed the criminal involvement and individual roles the suspects played in the invasion of the residence of the revered Supreme Court Judge. Recall that the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, psc (+), NPM, fdc, on 1st November, 2021, affirmed that the Force did not authorize security operatives to carry out any assignment in or around the residence of Justice Mary Odili and directed the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) to carry out a discrete investigation with the aim of bringing the perpetrators to book.
The suspects; Ajodo Lawrence ‘m’ (principal suspect), Michael Diete-Spiff ‘m’, Bar. Alex Onyekuru ‘m’, Bayero Lawal ‘m’, Bar. Igwe Ernest ‘m’, Aliyu Umar Ibrahim ‘m’, Maimuna Maishanu ‘f’, Ayodele Akindipe ‘m’, Yusuf Adamu ‘m’, Bashir Musa ‘m’, ASP Mohammed Yahaya ‘m’, Stanley Nkwazema ‘m’, Shehu Jibo ‘m’ and Abdullahi Adamu ‘m’, L/CPL Mike (other name unknown) ‘m’, are members of a well-organized criminal gang with a web-like involvement of individuals drawing from their different competences, professional background and social contacts in perfecting the criminal plot. Membership of the syndicate include suspects with background in public service, business, law, journalism, banking, amongst others.
The facts of the case from Police Investigations have it that one Aliyu Umar Ibrahim, an acclaimed whistle blower, following a baseless and unverified information he got from one Yusuf Adamu – parading himself as the godson of Chief Peter Odili – that there is a huge sum of money in foreign currencies starched in the residence of Her Lordship, Justice Mary Odili located at No. 7, Imo River Street, Maitama, initiated processes aimed at illegally recovering the said money. Consequently, the syndicate contacted one Bashir Musa, a clerical staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who in turn sought the assistance of two (2) others – Shehu Jibo and Abdullahi Adamu.
The whistle blower was later introduced to one Bayero Lawal who falsely presented himself as a Director in EFCC. He took the whistle blower to one Hajiya Maimuna Maishanu who in-turn took them to her cousin, Michael Diete-Spiff, who claimed to be the Director of Foreign Currency Operation of Ghost’s Account for Local Whistle Blowers & Assets Recovery Panel, purportedly operating under the Federal Ministry of Justice – an agency that in fact does not exist. Diete-Spiff later introduced the whistle blower to one Lawrence Ajodo with the aid of one Godwin (currently at large). From this moment, Lawrence Ajodo – who falsely claimed to be a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) and also the officer in-charge of a non-existing Asset Recovery Panel at the Federal Ministry of Justice took over the planning and execution of the illicit operation. Through the assistance of one Ayodele Akindipe, an herbalist, the fake CSP procured the services of an Assistant Superintendent of Police and two (2) Soldiers for the failed operation. The fake CSP also elicited the services of a journalist, one Stanley Nkwazema and two (2) lawyers namely Bar. Alex Onyekuru and Bar. Igwe Ernest. While the journalist was expected to play the blackmail role, the lawyers were expected to help the syndicate in perfecting court documents and processes. The fake CSP later deposed to an affidavit and eventually obtained a search warrant meant for the execution of the raid.
Investigations so far conducted by the Police show that the suspects criminally trespassed on the residence of Her Lordship but were not allowed to execute the search warrant due to the lawful resistance from Police officers on guard duty at her residence. Police findings also revealed that the principal suspect – Lawrence Ajodo – is an impostor and not a police officer as he falsely claimed. Similarly, the Ghost’s Account for Local Whistle Blowers & Assets Tax Recovery Panel purportedly operating under the Federal Ministry of Justice does not exist at the Federal Ministry of Justice neither is it registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Also, the signature of the Honourable Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) on the ID card presented by the fake CSP during the raid was forged. The Search Warrant which the suspects procured from a Magistrate Court for purposes of searching the premises of Justice Odili, was also obtained under false representation. The entire criminal operation has no authorization of any known Security Agency or Federal Government Ministry/Department.
Three (3) vehicles used by the suspects for the illegal invasion and a laptop computer, printer and flash drive used for the production of the fake ID cards were recovered from the suspects by the Police investigators.
Meanwhile, investigation is being intensified to arrest the other seven (7) suspects including two (2) persons believed to be personnel of the Nigeria Army who were physically present during the raid, and fully dressed in Army uniform.
The IGP, while assuring diligent prosecution of the suspects, reiterated the commitment of the Force to continue to advance the rule of law and combatting all forms of crimes and criminality in the country.
CP FRANK MBA
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
FORCE HEADQUARTERS
ABUJA
11th November, 2021
