The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, denied any involvement in the house siege of Mary Odili, Supreme Court Justice, on Friday.
He also called for an investigation into the raid.
Ravenewsonline.com reported that Security agents stormed Odili’s home, based on information that “illegal activities” were taking place there.
The search warrant showed that the commission consisted of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), and the Ministry of Justice.
However, in a statement issued on Saturday, Malami’s spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, said the minister would not bend to such an extent to be associated with such “bad” judicial proceedings (memorandum).
“It is important to set the record straight that as the chief legal officer of the Federation, Malami will not stoop too low to be linked to court proceedings that appear unfashionable and poorly on the basis of the strength of the alleged search warrant.
“The media reports on the issue depict an untidy process that could never emanate from the office of the honourable attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice,” he said.
Gwandu also said, “there is nothing called Joint Panel Recovery under the ministry of justice, in the office of the attorney-general of the federation and the entire federal ministry of justice.
“What we have is “Assets Recovery and Management Unit” the mandate of which does not include stings operations.
“The email address used on the letter and the claimed office address which as revealed by the letter headed paper is not the address of the federal ministry of justice.
“All these deductions would have assisted a discerning mind to arrive at a reasonable conclusion of criminal undertones associated with the court process on the basis of which the purported search warrant was procured.”
“I’ve called out to the competent authorities for an intensified wider investigation on the matter for necessary actions leading to the prosecution of anyone involved in the incident,” Malami added.
The EFCC, for its part, has denied any involvement in the raid.
The warrant was cancelled by Emmanuel Iyanna, the chief magistrate who granted it, on the grounds that the court was misled.
