Bayelsa: Rivers NASS caucus berates FG over silence on attack on Odili

Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Rivers State National Assembly caucus has berated the Federal Government over its alleged silence on the attack on the residence of Justice Mary Odili, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court judgment on the Bayelsa State governorship poll.
The caucus in a statement jointly signed by George Sekibo and Kingsley Chinda, on Sunday, said the attack constituted a new dimension in the alleged assault on the judiciary in the country.
The caucus stated that Justice Odili was unfairly targeted, for being part of the apex court panel, which gave a judgment that did not go down with the All Progressives Congress ( APC).
According to the statement, “the caucus further condemns the silence of the Federal Government and security agencies over an audacious act of primitivism and grave threat whereby placard-carrying thugs invaded the privacy of the Odilis and erected barricades against their residence for no other reason than that Justice Mary Odili participated in the Bayelsa governorship appeal as one among a five-man panel which heard the appeal and reached a unanimous decision that grates with the APC.
“This latest wanton shamelessness constitutes a new dimension in the continuing assault against the judiciary and, once again, underlines Nigeria’s inexorable degeneration and descent into rapid lawlessness.
“We recall that in 2015 Rivers State was the victim of unfavorable judicial decisions where, in literally one fell swoop, 15 out its 16 members of the National Assembly were sacked.
“Painful as the decisions were, there was no recourse to self-help or threat of violenceagainst any of the Justices who sat on the appeals.
“We would like to point out that Justice Mary Odili who has been inexplicably and unfairly targeted since the Bayelsa governorship decision, was a member of other panels of the Supreme Court which gave judgment in favor of at least three APC governors who are in office today.
“Finally, we call on Nigerians and the international community to note this egregious assault on the dignity and office of a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and hold agents of the All Progressives Congress and their backers responsible should any harm befall Justice Mary Odili or any member of her family.”