Members of the Akwa Ibom State House
of Assembly on Sunday asked President Muhammadu Buhari and the
leadership of the National Assembly to investigate Thursday’s raid of
the state’s Government House by operatives of the State Security
Services.
In a statement made available to
journalists in Abuja on Thursday and signed by all members of the
Assembly, the lawmakers said the raid on the governor’s official
residence was an attack on the entire people of Akwa Ibom state.
An official of the SSS had on Friday
told us that officials, who carried out the raid, found piles
of dollars at the presidential wing of the Government House.
He said the operatives left the cash intact and did not take evacuate it from the complex.
The lawmakers, however, accused the SSS agents of having “damaged
valuables belonging to the Government and people of Akwa Ibom State”.
They said their call for investigation
is based on the constitutional provision that guarantees immunity from
prosecution for a sitting governor.
They also said the SSS did not inform
Governor Udom Emmanuel of their mission, arguing that the raid violated
Section 308 of Nigeria’s constitution.
“Since the Constitution has clearly freed the Governor from being
brought under court warrant in the discharge of his legitimate duties,
it is on record that before embarking on that ill-advised operation, the
SSS never communicated with the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, who is
also the chief security officer of the state, on why it was necessary to
search his official residence in Uyo,” the lawmakers said.
The assembly also alleged that Governor Emmanuel was being singled out for persecution by the leadership of the SSS.
“While the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Vice
President as well as the Governors and Deputy Governors across the
country are protected under constitutional immunity, the Governor of
Akwa Ibom State has been singled out and stripped of this right which
was provided for him under the law.“We are firm in the belief that if the raid on the Hilltop Mansion was not an act of felony, persecution and political vendetta, the DSS would have declared their mission before unleashing terror on innocent workers of Akwa Ibom State Government and or openly declare to the authorities in the state what they found and what they took away from our Government House,” they said.
The lawmakers also said contrary to information released by an official of the SSS to the media, “no arms or stacks of money were found in Akwa Ibom State Government House”.
They added, “We also condemn in the
strongest terms the illegal assault on the symbol of our pride and the
embodiment of the confederacy of Akwa Ibom State in the Nigerian
Federation by the Daura-led State Security Service.
“We, hereby challenge the Director
General of the SSS, Alhaji Lawal Musa Daura, to tell the people of Akwa
Ibom State, Nigerians and indeed lovers of democracy all over the world,
why he ordered the ill-fated operation on the Akwa Ibom State
Government House.
“The people of Akwa Ibom State will hold
Mr. Daura and the SSS responsible if any unforeseen incident befall the
Governor, his Deputy or key officials of Akwa Ibom State Government.
“We, therefore, invite Nigerians from
all walks of life to rise up and overwhelmingly challenge acts of
impunity by the political class and security operatives in the country,
including the State Security Service.
“We also invite President Muhammadu
Buhari and the leadership of the National Assembly to launch proper
investigation into the ridiculous action of the SSS.
“We are shocked that the SSS which is
currently purging officers it claimed to have shown unconcealed
partisanship should descend so low to the extent of staging a coup
d’état on our governor, simply because he belongs to an opposition party
“It is, therefore, on this note that we pledge that the House of
Assembly and indeed the people of Akwa Ibom State will take every
necessary action within the law, to protect and preserve our federacy in
the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
No comments:
Post a Comment