NASS Showdown: Police, DSS Order Tambuwal’s Arrest Bode Gbadebo, catherine agbo, Chika Otuchikere, DAVID ADUGE-ANI and Kunle Olasanmi, Jonathan Nda-Isaiah, SOLOMON AYADO and ISAIAH BENJAMIN — Feelers reaching LEADERSHIP Weekend from the Police Headquarters Abuja, yesterday, indicated that the Inspector General of Police, Abba Sulaiman has ordered the arrest of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. The order was given following a showdown between the police and members of the House of Representatives on Thursday, after the police blocked the entrance to the National Assembly and prevented the Speaker from gaining entrance, forcing some of the lawmakers who were with him to scale the locked gate and go into the chambers of the House of Representatives, where they stalled alleged plans to begin impeachment proceedings against the Speaker. Sources at the police headquarters told LEADERSHIP Weekend that a similar arrest order had been issued by the Department of State Security (DSS). According to the sources, the Inspector General gave the order for Tambuwal’s arrest after a meeting with Vice President Namadi Sambo and the National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki at the Presidential Villa, yesterday. “I can confirm to you that the order for his arrest has been given today (Friday). The signal from the IG’s office specifically directed the FCT and Sokoto State commissioners of Police to serve Tambuwal with notice of invitation to the force headquarters and if he resists, he should be arrested immediately. The involvement of the Sokoto commissioner of police is because the Speaker was sighted in Sokoto yesterday where he picked the APC’s governorship form for the forthcoming election. It was assumed that he was out of Abuja and as such, other police divisions were involved in the matter. “ Sources privy to details of the meeting in the Villa said both the Sambo and Dasuki berated the inspector general for the failure of his men to prevent the Speaker from gaining access into the National Assembly premises. “The NSA was particularly angry and told the IG in clear terms that he doesn’t know his job. He asked how the Speaker and the members broke a cordon put in place by the FCT police commissioner. The NSA then made it clear that the police authorities must rectify the anomalies or they would face the consequences. The promised that Tambuwal would be arrested for questioning,” the source added. Efforts to get a confirmation of the arrest orders were however unsuccessful as the police and DSS authorities did not respond to phone calls and text messages to their mobile phone numbers and did not go through, respectively. A phone call and text message to the IGP’s was also not responded to. Reacting to the news of his planned arrest yesterday, Tambuwal noted that he is a law abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who has no immunity against arrest and prosecution except privileges as may be provided by the Legislative Powers and Privileges Act. He said he is available, ready and willing to answer any lawful invitation from any of the security agencies on any matter for which they may require his attention. In a statement by his special adviser on media and public affairs, Malam Imam Imam, the Speaker expressed dismay at the unprofessional conduct of the Nigerian police in the attempt to stop him from accessing the House of Representatives chambers and described as disgraceful, “the false statement later issued by the Police in which they claimed that in the lawful exercise of their duties “ Alh Aminu Tambuwal CFR, arrived the venue with a motley crowd,who broke the cordon, assaulted the Police and evaded due process”. This blatant falsehood coming from a law enforcement agency, that is expected to be neutral and lawful, is unfortunate, to say the least.” Meanwhile, but for the resoluteness of the Sergeant-at-arms at the National Assembly who insisted that he would only handover the mace of office to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Aminu Tambuwal, the embattled Speaker would have lost his job on Thursday, LEADERSHIP Weekend investigations have revealed. This was part of strategies by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), working on cohorts with the executive to impeach the Speaker who recently decamped to major opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC). A mace is a ceremonial staff of office, a stick or rod, usually with an ornamental head, carried by officials on ceremonial occasions as a symbol of authority. According to a source privy to the development, the acting Sergeant-at-arms at the National Assembly, Mr. Ibrahim Ndako was asked to surrender the mace but he had refused, insisting that Tambuwal is still the Speaker of the House and he would not release to mace to any other person but him. Following Ndako’s insistence on holding onto the mace, he was reportedly detained by the police for about 24 hours, from Wednesday till late Thursday morning after crisis broke out at the National Assembly following the refusal of the police who had barricaded the entrance to the National Assembly and prevented Tambuwal and other lawmakers from gaining access into the premises. “As part of their strategy, the police tried to seize the mace from the sergeant-at-arms but he refused to give it to them. If they got it, it would have made things a lot easier for them. When they failed to compel him to handover the mace to them, they detained him overnight from Wednesday, and only released him on Thursday after crisis erupted at the National Assembly. “What happened at the National Assembly became necessary following the desperation of the PDP and the federal government to remove the Speaker from office by all means. If the lawmakers who scaled the gate didn’t do what they did, what happened in Ekiti State where seven PDP lawmakers claimed to have impeached the Speaker is the same thing that would have played out and the government would have wasted no time in recognising the new Speaker that would have emerged. It is not a matter of whether what the honourable members did was right or wrong, it was necessary,” the source explained. LEADERSHIP Weekend recalls that in a move widely reported to have been sponsored by the state, the Speaker and other lawmakers were Thursday prevented from entering the National Assembly to preside over what a special session on the extension of emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States, a development that forced many of the lawmakers to scale the 12-feet gate to gain entrance into the complex. The plan would however not succeed as pandemonium ensued at the National Assembly complex, after the police fired tear gas to deter the lawmakers from continuing into the legislative chamber. The police in a statement signed by the force public relations officer, CP Emmanuel Ojukwu defended its action, saying the police were acting on intelligence report of a likely invasion of the House of Representatives by hoodlums. Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon Emeka Ihedioha who had come to the Assembly complex earlier, was allowed unfettered access into the complex with convoy and retinue of aides. Following the invasion of the National Assembly by policemen and firing of tear gas in the chamber of the House of Representatives, the Senate President, David Mark, who doubles as the chairman of the National Assembly ordered the shutdown of the National Assembly and suspension of plenary activities till Tuesday November 25. The presidency yesterday asked the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, to explain what led to the security siege at the National Assembly. The Inspector General who arrived at the office of the Vice President, Mohammed Namadi Sambo at the State House, Abuja to answer the query later emerged looking sullen. When he was confronted by newsmen who wanted to know what actually led to the police’s action at the National Assembly, the police boss only said, “who did what and who didn’t do what will be disclosed to you later. You know we work with investigations, investigations are going on and the press officer will address you.” aminu_tambuwal Why we scaled gate- Gbajabiamila, Ogene The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and APC Caucus Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has explained his role in Thursday’s incident at the National Assembly. Gbajabiamila who was one of those who scaled the gate to gain entrance into the National Assembly premises said what he did was to save democracy. “What happened in the National Assembly will forever live in infamy. I never thought I would see the day when I would be forced to go over the Assembly gates where I work to gain access into the chambers. But then our democracy has to be saved. It was pretty clear the presidency in spite of a court injunction wanted to do something sinister and illegal. “They perfected the plot to stop the Speaker and the opposition leader from gaining entry. My members were already in chambers waiting for me to come in so as to provide leadership and direction. Most of them had gone over the fate too. I had to do the needful to save our democracy. We thank God we foiled their evil machinations. We will continue to be vigilant,” he said. Also speaking on the incident, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Affairs, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, who also scaled the gate said the action was necessary in the interest of their safety as plain clothes security men who had pepper spray in their possession had already infiltrated the law makers who had gathered and were spraying the substance in the air. “As you know, lawmakers got to the National Assembly gate at different times. By the time some of us got there, we discovered that some of the security operatives on plain clothes had infiltrated us and had pepper spray on them. When we began to demand that the gate be opened, they started releasing the pepper spray on us and called for reinforcements. “Remember that the former Senate President, late Chuba Okadigbo was killed in Kano after pepper spray was used on him. The situation was very confusing. Some of us felt some persons were out to frustrate the House of Representatives consideration of the request by President Goodluck Jonathan to extend the state of emergency in the three north east states. Some also learnt of a plot to impeach Mr. Speaker using a few members who were at the chambers at the time. Again, remember that the same scenario played out on June 6, 2011, when the same police wanted to prevent the Speaker from entering the National Assembly. “Who are the hoodlums as suggested by the police, the occupants of a house or the man that invades a man’s legitimate place of work? I think the public will decide that. It is like seeing a man trying to steal your vehicle and you use every means possible to stop him. We acted on the spur of the moment. We had to protect our inalienable right to access the chambers. Right there, we had to contend with the threat of being bludgeoned and pepper sprayed to death. Nobody wants to be a dead hero,” he explained. We arrested 7 Hoodlums – Police The Police high command yesterday, said it arrested seven thugs that assaulted and broke the leg of the Police Aide-de-Camp to the Senate President, David Mark, during Thursday’s showdown between members of the House of Representatives and police operatives at the National Assembly complex. The force public relations officer, CP Emmanuel Ojukwu, who briefed journalists at the Force headquarters, Abuja declined to identify the suspects or affirm if they were lawmakers. He however said those found culpable would be made to face the music. Ojukwu who made allusions to those persons scaling the fence of the Assembly as the suspected hoodlums, said they would be dealt with for vandalising public property and attacking policemen, no matter how highly placed they are. The spokesman who scored his officers action high, stressed that the police personnel acted professionally by preventing the members of the House of Representatives, from accessing their chambers on account of their “dishonourable conduct.” “All the senators that entered the premises were checked, including the Senate President himself, but on the House of Representatives’ side, as the speaker was entering, he came with so many never-do-wells, thugs, those that confirmed our intelligence that there was going to be trouble at the National Assembly. “They refused to be checked, they refused to be screened. Some of us may have seen on the (television) screen how some of them were shaking the gates, destroying government property. This matter is currently under investigation and anyone who is found to have broken the rule will be dealt with,” he said. The police spokesman, stressed his earlier claim that the force got an intelligence report that the NASS would be attacked, adding that the Police mobilised adequately to forestall an attack on the facility. According to him, the intelligence report was the fallout of the mini-convention in Abuja by the APC and the Wednesday blockade of the force headquarters gates by the party members led by Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi. Ojukwu explained that the APC “thugs and hoodlums” came to the force headquarters with ambulances to convey their dead in case of a showdown, but said the Police exercised restraint. Meanwhile, the Police Service Commission has approved the promotion of 233 senior Police Officers. The promotion of the officers was one of the decisions of the 9th plenary Meeting of the Commission held in Abuja. Why I went to the green chamber – Mark President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, today provided insights into his visit to the Green Chamber of the House of Representatives in the heat of the pandemonium that occurred in the National Assembly on Thursday Already, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State have appealed to the President of the Senate to tamper justice with mercy and forgive Hon. Abdul Malik Usman Cheche (PDP Niger) who assaulted him on the floor of the House on Thursday. In a statement from his office, Senator Mark explained that he was in the House “to ascertain the safety of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and his colleagues having received reports that canisters of tear gas were targeted at the Lawmakers.” “I also went to confer with Mr. Speaker on the need to suspend plenary in both chambers in order to restore sanity to an environment that had turned restive and becoming uncontrollable. My intention was to safeguard the sanctity of the hallowed chamber and to guarantee the respect of the legislature. I consider the unwarranted and needless attack on my person by Hon. Abdulmalik Usman Cheche as a prize and sacrifice for leadership. It is a sacrifice I am prepared to accept. “I was physically stopped at the gate and blocked from accessing the National Assembly complex for about an hour. I was also tear gassed at the lobby of the White House as I made my return from the Green Chamber. In all these, I bear no ill feeling. AbdulMalik is my colleague. I have forgiven him. I believe we can continue to work together in the interest of peace and sustenance of democracy. “Like I have repeatedly said, I will do anything necessary to keep the sanctity of the parliament as an institution and safeguard the respect of every legislator. I therefore urge all political actors to always remember that we must first have a nation before we can achieve our various individual ambitions. We must at all times restrain ourselves from actions that cannot add value to our hard earned democracy. We should remain guided by the rules no matter how strongly we perceive our positions to be the most appropriate,” Mark said in the statement. Lawyers disagree over impeachment of President Jonahan Some prominent lawyers in the country and civil society group, the National Democratic Front (NDF) last night expressed divergent views over the planned impeachment of President Goodluck Jonathan by some House of Representatives members. Already, some members of the House have started collating signatures to commence impeachment procedure against the President over the incident at the National Assembly last Thursday. A senior advocate, Mr. Ahmed Raji, who spoke with our correspondent in Abuja, said the Honourable members in the House alone cannot impeach President Jonathan. According to him, the Senate must also agree to commence impeachment proceedings. “When talking about impeachment, there is a committee that should be set up by the Chief Justice of Nigeria to determine some of the allegations against the President. The House alone cannot impeach him, the Senate too must agree before any impeachment must take place. On the call for the resignation of the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba over the incident, the senior advocate and a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria said the IGP should be given an audience before we jump into conclusion. “I don’t agree that the IGP should resign for what his men allegedly did at the National Assembly. We should listen to him before we blame anybody. We should not jump into conclusion on this matter. We should find out why the officers of the IGP did what they have done before shifting blame,” Raji said. In his own view, Chief Awa Kalu, SAN, said what members of the NASS are playing is politics which would be resolved politically. “If they are planning impeachment, they know what to do. What is going on now is politics which will dissolve politically,” he said.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 09:56:45 +0000
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