The Mbaise Leadership Forum (MLF) has called for the prosecution of all those implicated in the recent invasion of the home of a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Mary Odili.
In a statement signed by its chairman, Board of Trustees, Sylvester Ugoh, and Moderator, Chris Ohanele, the forum said, “the culprits who carried out the act and those behind them should be uncovered, apprehended and brought to account, regardless of how highly placed or connected they may be.”
The forum, however, acknowledged that the process has been ongoing, adding that it “should continue until there is full accountability.”
It added: “The Federal Government has denied authorising this lawless act. The incident presents it with another opportunity to address the flagrant abuse of the rule of law and to reassure the country that it is willing and able to stop the slide to lawlessness in Nigeria.
“We are not fooled by public statements by some government officials which may be intended to distance them from the suspected culprits and afford such officials or their agents plausible deniability in this incident.”
The forum condemned all forms of intimidation of citizens by the government or its agents, adding: “Normally a highly placed individual as the Justice of the Supreme Court should be able to enjoy the maximum security necessary to discharge her responsibilities effectively and fearlessly. If Justice Odili could be subjected to intimidation tactics, how can the long-suffering ordinary citizens expect their sad fate to improve anytime soon? …”
“We believe that every citizen has a stake in building a civilised order in Nigeria and that government should be in the vanguard of this effort. In spite of current challenges, we continue to hope that government will live up to this responsibility.”
Credit: Akalecious