Home / News / Local / Police recover stolen Mace of Senate; Abandoned near Abuja City gate; Culprits won’t go unpunished, Ekweremadu vows
Senator Ike Ekweremadu

Police recover stolen Mace of Senate; Abandoned near Abuja City gate; Culprits won’t go unpunished, Ekweremadu vows

 

Senator Ike Ekweremadu
Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim
DSS DG Lawal Daura

The Police have recovered the Mace of the Senate of Nigeria, forcefully snatched by hoodlums that stormed the Red Chamber, Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

A statement by SP Aremu Adeniran, Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, said that the Mace, symbol of authority of the Senate, was found abandoned by the “suspected miscreants” at a point under the flyover before the Abuja City Gate, by a patriotic passer-by who saw it and alerted the Police.

 Addressing the Senate in plenary Thursday, however, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, vowed that the culprits in the Wednesday invasion of the Senate chamber will not go unpunished, notwithstanding that the Mace has been recovered.

He said: “Yesterday, this legislative chamber, the nation, and the international community were treated to the theatre of the absurd when armed men invaded the chamber to assault our staff and cart away the mace, the symbol of authority of the Senate. It was a very sad testimony, a derogation, and total smear on our democracy and nation.

 “You would also recall that this hallowed chamber, supported by the House of Representatives, demanded that the Inspector-General of Police recover and return the stolen mace to the Senate within twenty-four hours. Concerned colleagues and Nigerians, who wanted to find out if the mace had been found, have inundated me with calls and messages since last night. Let me, therefore, formally confirm to you, my distinguished colleagues, that the mace has been recovered by the police as we demanded”.

The statement by SP Aremu Adeniran, said in full:

Sequel to the invasion of the Senate Chambers of the National Assembly, Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 18th April, 2018 by some suspected thugs who disrupted the Senate Plenary Session and carted away the Mace of the Red Chambers, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris NPM, mni, immediately instituted a high-powered Police Investigation and Intelligence Team coordinated by the IGP Monitoring Unit of the Force and further directed a total lock-down of the Federal Capital Territory with intense surveillance patrol and thorough Stop and Search Operations at various Police check-points with a view to arresting perpetrators and possible recovery of the stolen Mace.

The Police teams engaged in massive raids of identified criminal spots/flashpoints, stop and search operations, visibility and confidence building patrols, intelligence gathering which forced the suspected miscreants to abandon the Mace at a point under the flyover before the City Gate, where a patriotic passer-by saw it and alerted the Police.
While a discreet investigation into the incident is still ongoing to arrest and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Nigeria Police Force appreciates the spirited members of the public, most especially motorists within Abuja Metropolis for their support, cooperation and timely information during the rigorous stop and search operations for the recovery of the Mace

The renewed commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to guarantee protection of Lives and Property, Peace and Stability and sustain democracy in the country remains unequivocal and unwavering.

A statement by Uche Anichukwu, Special Adviser (Media) to the Deputy President of the Senate, quoting Senator Ekweremadu as pledging that the incident must not go unpunished, said further that the Inspector General of Police and Director General of the DSS will be invited next week to brief the Senate on the state of the investigations, stressing that the legislature will never be intimidated, insisting that the Senate “will never fear to legislate; and we will never legislate out of fear”.

The statement said: “We believe that there should be consequence for bad behaviour. We swore to uphold the laws of the Federal Republic and the principles of democracy. It still beats the imagination of Nigerians and the civilised world that the attackers passed through the several security checks and barriers into the National Assembly and the inner recesses of this chamber and also escaped with the mace into the thin air despite the well-known fortified surroundings of this parliament.

“Therefore, we hold that it will be a detour to the state of nature where life was lawless and brutish if what happened yesterday is allowed to go unpunished or swept under the carpet. It will never happen. We will get to the roots of the matter.
“We call on the Inspector General of Police and Director-General of the State Security Service to ensure that all those, who plotted, aided, abated, and executed this dastardly affront on our democracy and belittled Nigeria before the international community are brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others. We will be inviting them next week to brief us on the state of the investigations.”
Ekweremadu added that the incident had also brought to the fore the case many, including himself, had continued to make for a decentrlaised police system, noting that whereas “ordinarily, a big institution like the National Assembly should have its own police, apart from the Sergeants-at-Arm, the security of this parliament is fully outside the control of the National Assembly”.
While appreciating Senators for showing maturity and patriotism “in the face of flagrant provocation”, he thanked Nigerians, the House of Representatives, staff of the National Assembly, the press, civil society, and the international community for standing with the National Assembly in condemnation of the incident.
“Ugly and provocative as the event of yesterday was, it soothes that the entire nation and the world stood together in total condemnation of the ugly drama, brigandage, and desecration of the National Assembly by those, who hold themselves above the laws and institutions of our land”, Ekweremadu stated.
He vowed that the Senate would never be intimidated, insisting that Senate “will never fear to legislate; and we will never legislate out of fear”.

 

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