Armed men of the DSS and police, at 02.00 hours, led by a Yoruba man, Mr Tosin Ajayi, who is the Rivers State Director of the DSS and another Yoruba man, who is the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr Francis Odesanya, invaded the residence of Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen of the Supreme Court who is a South-South man.
JSC S.N. Onnoghen is next in line to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). He has been nominated to become the CJN when the present occupier of the office retires.
No official reason has been given for the brazen abuse of the privacy and integrity of the Supreme Court justice.
Many believe strongly that the action by the northern led DSS and Police with the tacit approval of the Presidency is an attempt to prevent Justice Onnoghen (from South-South) from becoming the CJN?
Another question gleaned from comments across the South-South Nigeria has been why are the Yorubas always the ones used for dirty jobs like this to shut the South-South from power.
In a related development, the home of another Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Sylvanus Ngwuta, from the South-East, was also invaded.
Many see this as a form of political déjà vu reenacting the causative events for the truncation of democracy in Nigeria in 1983.
The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), in a swift response, have condemned the moves of the presidency and declared a State of Emergency on the Legal Profession even though they hold that Court Boycott is not included.
Many Nigerians, including the NBA and even members of the ruling APC, are worried that these actions are a threat to democracy and the rule of law.
