Member of the House of Representatives, Ms. Doris Uboh, being dragged out of Tuesday’s plenary session by the Sergeant-, at-Arms, Col. Emeka Okere (retd.), and a female security operative during a brawl in the House. On the right is a member of the House, Mr. Dino Melaye, after the incident.
There was commotion at the gates of the National Assembly on Tuesday as riot policemen and State Security Service operatives prevented some suspended members of the House of Representatives from entering the premises.
Those stopped were Mr. Dino Melaye, Mr. Anas Adamu, Mr. Solomon Awhinawhin and Mr. Bitrus Kaze.
The four were among the 11 lawmakers suspended on June 23, 2010 by the House for ”disorderly conduct.”
They had accused the House leadership of misusing N9bn out of the capital vote of the lower arm of the National Assembly.
Melaye, Adamu, Awhinawhin, Kaze and Mr. Independence Ogunewe had also gone to an Abuja Federal High Court to challenge their suspension on the grounds that it was illegal.
On Thursday last week, the court delivered judgment in their favour.
But on their way to resume sitting on Tuesday in compliance with the judgment, hordes of riot policemen stopped them at the first gate.
Melaye, in particular, was said to have protested loudly, telling the policemen that he was complying with a court judgment. He reportedly outsmarted the policemen at the first gate as he abandoned his car and practically dashed on foot to the second gate.
On getting to the second gate, more policemen and SSS operatives cordoned off the area and prevented the lawmaker from gaining access into the premises.
A bailiff from the court who came with the lawmakers to the National Assembly was said to have been manhandled and chased away from the first gate.
The Sergeant-at-Arms to the National Assembly, Col. Emeka Okere (retd.), and the Director of the SSS Unit at the National Assembly, Mr. Mohammed Abdulrahman, were seen coordinating operations at the gate.
Melaye was later led away by some of the riot policemen to the first gate where he joined Kaze, Awhinawhin and Adamu before they left the scene.
The development caused serious traffic chaos on the road leading to the National Assembly for over one hour as Melaye blocked a section of the road with a vehicle.
Before the lawmakers left the scene, they accused the police of obstructing the course of justice.
Melaye, who spoke on their behalf, said, ”We have a judgment, they don‘t have a superior judgment, they don‘t have a stay of execution.
”Yet, they are stopping us and using the Nigeria Police to obstruct justice. They are using the police to stop us from going into the chamber. The National Assembly is supposed to be a respecter of the constitution and the courts of the land.
”If now as I am standing here, they serve me with a superior order that supersedes what I have, I will go back home.”
Describing the drama as ”satanic and draconian”, Melaye added that though the suspended lawmakers came with a bailiff, the security personnel disregarded the court official.
Many senators and members of the House were caught up in the traffic chaos. They were forced to disembark from their cars to trek into the premises.
Among them were the Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, and Senator Iyiola Omisore. Ekweremadu‘s driver later negotiated through the traffic jam to get to the second gate.
But the gate remained shut and Ekweremadu had to wait for a few seconds before it was opened for him to enter the premises.
Omisore had to abandon his vehicle outside the gate as he could not drive into the premises.
The Minority Whip of the House, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, and another member, Mr. Mayor Eze, suffered a similar fate.
As of 10.30am, many members of staff and visitors to the National Assembly were still locked out as a result of the commotion.
Those who were already in the premises could not go out as both the entrance and exit gates were locked.
It was learnt that the Speaker of the House, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, had to use an alternative gate near the fence of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa to enter the premises.
At least four bullion vans conveying cash to the branches of some commercial banks operating at the National Assembly were turned away from the gate.
It was not until 11.15am that the first and second gates were opened after the police and the SSS were satisfied that the lawmakers had left the scene.
A policeman, who did not want to be named, claimed that they had ”directives from above” to stop the lawmakers.
Speaking at a news conference later, the spokesman of the House, Mr. Eseme Eyiboh, defended the actions of the policemen and the SSS.
He stated that the bid by the lawmakers to enter the National Assembly was likely to cause a breach of ”national security” if they had not been stopped.
Eyiboh said that the House had filed an appeal against the judgment of the court and also filed for a stay of execution.
According to him, whenever the two steps stated above are taken in respect of any matter, the parties must revert to the statusquo.
“This issue does not call for arguments. A notice of appeal has been filed and we filed for a stay of execution. The question of when the court will decide it is at the discretion of the court,” Eyiboh said.
Source:/www.punchng.com
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