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Chaotic, dramatic, shambolic are some of the words that best describe what transpired at the Senate last week when armed political thugs invaded the hallowed chambers, disrupted plenary and snatched the symbol of authority – mace.
I was at the Senate Press Centre watching plenary from the television screen when I suddenly noticed some unidentified persons forcing their way down the aisle, as senators scampered for safety.
With journalistic instinct, I immediately came out of the lobby, only to find people running helter-skelter. Not deterred, I hastened up to the entrance of the hallowed chamber to catch a glimpse of what was going on and what I saw was ineffable; thugs believed to be loyalists to the suspended lawmaker representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Ovie Omo-Agege, came out of the chamber in commando style and went away with the mace.
Although I have read stories of mace snatching at local government legislative houses and state houses of assembly, never had I witnessed such a blockbuster movie in real life.
Incidentally, this is the second invasion I have witnessed since I was posted to the National Assembly in 2014; the first being in November of the same year when heavily armed policemen invaded the Complex, tear-gassed and tried to prevent members of the House of Representatives, including the then Speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, from entering the complex.
During last week’s invasion when one of the hoodlums carrying the mace made his way from the chamber to the lobby, he was challenged by only one sergeant-at-arm who was overpowered by other thugs.
The invasion was well-planned and executed, and this says a lot about how porous the security at the National Assembly is. It is shocking that such a daring attack would be executed in broad daylight on live television in an institution with heavy presence of armed policemen, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) as well as sergeant-at-arms. It beats my imagination that there are over 300 security men guarding the National Assembly and five security checkpoints, not to mention the security men attached to each of the lawmakers.
If the intention of the invaders was to terminate the lives of everyone at the chamber on that fateful day, they would have done so successfully.
If security men attached to various entry points that have a penchant for harassing National Assembly Correspondents, from gaining entry into the National Assembly Complex to carry out their constitutional duties, could be bribed by unaccredited persons with roasted meat (suya), N1,000 or a plate of food, then we need not be security experts to know that our lives are no longer safe at the Complex. I was one of their numerous victims last year.
Professional, amateur beggars and other individuals who have no business in National Assembly, throng the Complex and lurk around the lobby and Automated Teller Machine (ATM) points to solicit money. I have also been embarrassed countless times by strangers at ATM points at the Complex.
If the security agents were alive to their responsibilities, they ought to have gathered intelligence of the attack and prevented it. If they were not complicit, they should have realised that the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, forbids any suspended lawmaker from entering the premises of the Complex while the suspension subsists.
Section 22 of the Act states that: “A member of a Legislative House who has been suspended from the service of that House shall not enter or remain within the Chamber or precincts of the House while such suspension remains in force, and, if any such member is found within the Chamber or precincts of the House in contravention of this section, he may be forcibly removed therefrom by any officer of the House and no proceedings shall lie in any court against such officer in respect of such removal”.
Sadly, this section was not complied with, as the embattled lawmaker not only entered the chamber but sat and took part in plenary and executive session.
The ugly development is a sad reminder of how some professionals who venture into the murky waters of Nigerian politics get their hands soiled, just to be ‘politically correct’.
As it stands, Omo-Agege is now a subject of ridicule in many quarters. He has earned the tag ‘Mace Runner’ on social media. A message was sent to me on WhatsApp and it read thus: “In 1986, (Late) Justice James Omo-Agege of Bendel State Armed Robbery and Firearm Tribunal sentenced Lawrence Anini (one of Nigeria’s most notorious armed robbers) and his gang to death for armed robbery. Thirty-two years later, his son, Ovie Omo-Agege, with his gang, in a daylight operation stormed the hallow chamber of the Senate and stole the Mace. What an irony”!
Growing up in Warri, I knew the Omo-Ageges as a household name of legal practitioners of impeccable characters. As a lawyer, the embattled lawmaker served as Executive Assistant to former Delta State Governor, James Ibori from 2003 to 2005, Commissioner for Special Duties from 2005 to 2007 and Secretary to the State Government (SSG) in 2007.
I recall the wild celebration that greeted his victory in Effurun in December 2015 when the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, Edo State, nullified the election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ighoyota Amori and declared the then Labour Party (LP) standard bearer, Ovie Omo-Agege as winner of the March 28, 2015 election. What happened to this fine gentleman? Why should a respected lawyer who should know better take laws into his hands for a ‘pot of porridge’?
On a lighter note, three senators caught my attention during the invasion. They include: Adeola Olamilekan who on approaching the chamber and heard of the crisis, immediately ran outside and jumped into a waiting vehicle, not knowing it belonged to the hoodlums. The second legislator was Joshua Lidani who was captured in a viral picture, sitting motionless while the thugs took away the mace.
The last was James Manager who despite bragging on the floor, 24 hours before the invasion, that as an ‘Izon man’, he would retaliate and repel any attack, sought cover in the tea room when the invaders stormed the Senate. One of the cameramen said when he asked him why he was running, Manager, who represents Warri and other council areas in the National Assembly, retorted in Pidgin English, “If na you nko, you no go run”?
I can understand the senator’s concerns. Why should a person die in the line of duty when he quietly pockets N13.5 million monthly as running cost?
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
