Some thugs believed to be those sympathetic to the suspended member of the senate, Ovie Omo-Agege on Wednesday invaded the Senate chamber during plenary at 11.30am and made away with the mace.
The three invaders entered the chamber about the same time that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who was suspended by the Senate last week, walked into the chambers and snatched the mace, the symbol of parliamentary authority.
For five minutes, the thugs took over the Chamber, as senators ran helter-skelter for fear of their lives.
Some Ghanaian lawmakers, workers and visitors in the gallery watched as the drama unfolded.
The thugs went straight for the mace, and pulled it off its stand in front of the Senate President’s seat.
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekeremadu, who was presiding, was about piloting the business of the day when mayhem broke out.
Senate President Bukola Saraki is attending the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings in the United States (U.S.).
Three of the thugs rushed to snatch the mace while others positioned themselves at the entrance.
One of them hijacked the mace and brushed aside one sergeant-at-arms personnel who attempted the courage to challenge him.
The thug charged at Ekweremadu, shouting: “get out from there, this is democracy, you cannot stop our senator from this chamber,” as he went for the mace.
After snatching the mace, the thugs pushed their way through until they disappeared through the exclusive Villa Gate.
The mace snatcher jumped into a waiting Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), which was stationed in front of the National Assembly (White House) door.
The vehicle zoomed off to access the central gate but it was locked. The vehicle did a decoy and disappeared through the Villa Gate.
It was learnt that the thugs came into the National Assembly Complex in three SUVs which were positioned at strategic points.
Before the invasion, protesters milled at the central gate of the National Assembly, demanding the recall of Omo-Agege.
About 30 minutes after the invasion, some members of the House of Representatives led by Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun visited the Senate in solidarity.
Receiving the representatives, Ekweremadu said: “I thank you for your solidarity. This morning (yesterday) we had an unusual incident at the Senate chamber.
“At about 11:30 some armed thugs invaded the Senate chamber, assaulted some of our staff and some of the media persons and forcefully took away the mace of the Senate.
”They passed through the entrance and the gate and left the National Assembly with the mace. They attempted kidnapping two of our senators.
“Those they attempted to kidnap were eventually left but we decided that we will not be intimidated by the circumstance.
“We will stand by our democracy we will defend our democracy. It is an affront on the Senate, it is an affront on democracy, it is an affront on the National Assembly, it is an affront on the parliament but we are going to stand together to ensure that we continue with the assignment Nigerians gave us to represent them.
“We are going to get to the root of this matter and I believe that I speak the minds of all of you here if I say that security agencies must recover our mace within 24 hours.
“We are giving the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) 24 hours to recover our mace.
“Let me thank the Deputy Speaker and our colleagues from the House of Representatives. We want to assure you that we refuse to be intimidated. We are going to carry out our assignment fully.
“We have decided to go through everything on our order paper for today even if it takes us till 6 o’clock today. We will conclude everything here because that is what we are being paid to do.”
Earlier at plenary, Ekweremadu put the motion that the police and DSS be given 24 hours to recover the mace to vote and it was unanimously carried.
Lasun said: “I have read a lot of books about representative democracy and what baffles me most is the fact that once you try to demean the institution of the assembly that means you are pretenders to the institution of democracy and that means that once your assembly ceases to function or you ostracise it or you want to muzzle the parliament, definitely you are no longer practicing democracy.
“Let the pretenders know that it is the assembly that defines democracy and for the fact that we lack that knowledge and because of the way some of us started practicing politics a lot of the populace do not agree with the fact that if we have to develop, the institution of legislature must be well strengthened and once you do not do that you should as well forget about democracy.
“I was coming out of my office this morning when the sergeant-at-arms accosted me and said the mace has been taken away but when I entered this chamber I saw the mace so I feel happy that democracy is going to work in Nigeria.
“We decided on our own too to start sitting and to make sure that we treat the order paper as it should be treated.
”We decided to visit to solidarise not with you alone, but to tell Nigerians that this assembly must make sure that democracy works in Nigeria.
“We are in solidarity with you and we will make a resolution to ensure that the mace is recovered within 24 hours.
“You can be rest assured that whatever touches you touches the House of Representatives.”
In a statement, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs Chairman Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi said “Today, some armed hoodlums led by suspended Senator Ovie Omo-Agege walked into the Senate plenary and seized the symbol of authority of the Upper Legislative Chamber, the mace.
“This action is an act of treason, as it is an attempt to overthrow a branch of the Federal Government of Nigeria by force, and it must be treated as such.
“All security agencies must stand on the side of due process and immediately mobilise their personnel to retrieve the mace and apprehend the mastermind and the perpetrators of this act.
“This action is also an affront on the legislature, and the leadership of the House has come to express their support against this action.
In another statement entitled: “Senate back in session with mace in place” Abdullahi said:
“The Senate has resumed plenary after coming out of an executive (closed door) session where the earlier incident of forceful removal of the mace was deliberated upon.
“The Senate decided that it will get to the root of this sad assault on democracy and an obvious act of treason which the seizure of the mace by some armed hoodlums represents. The hoodlums severely attacked some members of staff of the National Assembly, particularly the sergeant-at-arms on chamber duties.
“The Senate has mandated the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Idris Kpotum Ibrahim and Director-General of the State Security Services (SSS), Mallam Lawan Daura, to retrieve the mace stolen by the hoodlums within 24 hours.”
In a statement entitled: “Attack on Senate: Saraki commends colleagues, House members for defending democracy,” the Senate President hailed the lawmakers for defending democracy.
Saraki said by their action, the lawmakers had sent a strong signal that enemies of democracy and those who want to undermine the legislature would be resisted by parliamentarians.
“I have just been informed that some hoodlums invaded the Senate chamber, forcefully took away the mace and assaulted some of our sergeant-at-arms on chamber duties. I am delighted that the Senate stood up to them by disregarding their unreasonable and shameful action and went on with the day’s proceedings as slated in the order paper.
“My commendation goes to my deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, other members of the leadership, my colleagues, the leadership and members of the House of Representatives for standing in defence of democracy, parliamentary sanctity and constitutionalism.
“With the way the Senate has defied those seeking to undermine it, we have sent out a strong signal that we are always ready to defend our constitutional mandate and nothing will deter us from this.
“I associate myself with the comments of the Deputy Senate President that we are ready to get to the root of this assault on democracy and ensure that those who are responsible, no matter how remote, will be brought to justice”, Saraki said.
