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The Police headquarters on Sunday confirmed that a senior Immigration officer, ASI Abdullahi Usman has been arrested for his role in the invasion of the home of Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court located at Imo River Crescent in the Maitama area of Abuja on October 29, 2021, by some men claiming to be members of a Joint Panel Recovery Unit of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
With the arrest of the officer, total number of suspects in Police net are now 15 and there are indications they will be arraigned in court this week.
Confirming the arrest, Force Public Relations Officer, CP Frank Mba said, “It is true. An Assistant Superintendent of Immigration omwas arrested”.
He also said, “Approval has been given for all suspects to be arraigned”.
Others expected to be arraigned alongside the immigration officer include a journalist, banker, lawyer, a fake policeman and seven others.
The home of Justice Odili on Imo River Crescent in the Maitama area of Abuja was raided on October 29, 2021, by some men claiming to be members of the Joint Panel Recovery unit of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Recall that the suspects including 2 soldiers yet to be arrested invaded Justice Odili’s home on the strenght of a search warrant they claimed to have obtained from a Magistrate Court.
The court later revoked the search warrant saying it was deceived by the team.
Following the arrest of the suspects and their parade a fortnight ago at the Force Criminal Investigations Department, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Mr. Frank Mba, said seven of the suspects, including two soldiers, were still at large.
He disclosed that the criminals were loose canons and document forgers who were on their own and not hired by any personnel of the Ministry of Justice as they claimed.
According to the Spokesperson, the CP Mba said the suspects conspired to raid the residence of Justice Odili following information that the Supreme Court Justice was keeping a large sum of money in foreign currencies.
Furthermore he described the suspects as a syndicate gang who specialises in operating as law enforcement officers adding that they came from different professional backgrounds.
“The crime syndicate includes Lawyers, Military personnel, accountants, Journalists and others who impersonate other profession,” he said.
Mba also commended the resistance by the security personnel deployed to the Odili residence for not allowing the suspects access to the premises, stating that it would have been a great embarrassment to the nation before the international community if the operation had succeeded.
One of the suspects and team leader who purported to be a CSP Lawrence Ajodo during the invasion later admitted that he was not a policeman but claimed he was a consultant for the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
