Mark Shuts Down Legislature as Emergency Rule Expires

A scene from the fracas that led to the shut-down

•  House rejects request for extension after Tambuwal, others are barred from entry, tear gassed
•  Lawmakers threaten to impeach Jonathan, Ihedioha 
• Senate summons IG, police allege assault by speaker's supporters 
• Sambo meets with deputy speaker, others

Muhammad Bello, Omololu Ogunmade and Jaiyeola Andrews in Abuja

Hopes appeared to be bright for the extension of emergency rule in the beleaguered North-east states when the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday reconvened the House so that it could consider President Goodluck Jonathan’s request for the extension, which expired on Thursday.

However, these hopes were dashed on Thursday when overzealous policemen barricaded the entrance of the National Assembly, denying the speaker access and tear gassing him and other legislators, prompting the  Senate President David Mark, who doubles as the Chairman of the Assembly, to shut down parliament till next Tuesday.

But even if the National Assembly resumes plenary next week, it is very unlikely if the president’s request for the extension of emergency rule will get a favourable response, as the House, irked by the treatment meted to some of its members, unanimously turned down his request.

Instead, the House advised Jonathan to invoke the powers granted him by the constitution to deploy troops to any troubled zone.

Security had been on high alert in and around the precinct of the parliament a day before the special session to consider the president's request was to hold.

But all calm disappeared yesterday morning shortly after Tambuwal was driven into the premises in his official car.

Tambuwal, accompanied by many legislators, successfully drove into the assembly area through the main thoroughfare near Eagle Square. His car was allowed through the first and second gates, but was forcibly halted at the third and last gate.

The gate was locked before the speaker’s car could get through the second gate.
At this point, he came down from his car and made calls as some legislators battled the policemen stationed there, shouting at them to open the gate.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pedestrian gate was opened and the speaker had to walk about 400 metres into the main complex.

The speaker introduced himself to the stern-looking policemen, led by the acting Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mr. Wilson Inalegwu, but was rebuffed.

Irked by the behaviour of the policemen, the legislators started shaking the gate violently in order to gain entry into the premises. Subsequently, they rammed through the pedestrian section of the gate with the speaker while others began to scale the 12.2ft high gate. 

Those who accompanied Tambuwal were the spokesman of the House, Zakari Mohammed (APC, Kwara); Hon. Victor Afam Ogene (APGA, Anambra); the speaker’s aides, Imam Imam, Mohammed Isa and Andrew Oota; and a former member of the House and Special Assistant to the Speaker on Special Duties, Hon. Yemi Arokodare, from Ekiti State.

The principal officers who scaled the gate were the Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Abdulrahman Suleiman Kawu; and the Deputy Minority Whip, Hon. Datti Ahmed.

As they climbed the gate, they were cheered by onlookers, who watched helplessly as the police at the other side of the gate where the legislators were descending tried to stop them from proceeding inside.

However, as his more energetic and youthful colleagues scaled the gate, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim stood outside watching until the Divisonal Police Officer (DPO) of the National Assembly recognised him and directed that the pedestrian gate be opened for him.

The opposition members in tow were Hon. Mohammed Bago (APC, Niger), Hon. Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Lagos), Hon. Babatunde Adejare (APC, Lagos), Hon. Idris Garba (APC, Niger State), Hon. Babangida Mahuta, Hon. Idris Wase (APC, Palteau) and Hon. Ahman Pategi (APC, Kwara), among several others.

Tambuwal, before gaining entry, said to the policemen: “My name is Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, I am the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Can you recognise me?”

But Inalegwu, who held a phone to his left ear, simply replied: “It’s okay, I am coming, I will get back to you,” before leaving the scene.

When there was no positive response to let them through, the lawmakers started forcing their way either through the pedestrian gate or by scaling the main gate.
They chanted war songs, as they scaled the fence, shouting, “Kill us. We want to die. Kill us. We want to die.”

Thereafter, canisters of tear gas were shot at the speaker and other lawmakers by policemen. The first tear gas landed near Tambuwal as he was walking towards the arcade.

The second canister descended as he was climbing the stairs, backing the arcade and the third as he was passing through the reception entrance, where Mark, who had come out to see what was happening, was standing.

Later, Mark, who was booed by the small crowd that had gathered as being part of the conspiracy, ordered the Inspector General of Police (IG) Suleiman Abba to appear before the Senate to explain the circumstance that led to the mayhem.
A Deputy Director of the State Security Service (SSS) was also spotted within the lobby trying to ascertain what went wrong.

Although Tambuwal had a hectic time trying to get into the National Assembly complex, it was smooth ride for his deputy, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, and the Chief Whip, Hon. Bawa Bwari.

Both principal officers, who came minutes before the speaker, drove into the complex without any molestation from the security operatives.

N’Assembly Shut Down

Owing to the pandemonium that ensued, Mark yesterday ordered that the National Assembly be shut down until next Tuesday, describing the incident as “unfortunate”.

He also ordered the appearance of the IG to the Senate on Tuesday to tell the lawmakers what informed the invasion of the National Assembly by the security forces.

“Because of the very unfortunate incident that happened this morning, I have decided to shut down the National Assembly today (yesterday) - both the Senate and House of Representatives until Tuesday next week.

“We will also invite the IG here on Tuesday. There will be no business in National Assembly today. It remains shut till Tuesday,” Mark said.

The gates of the National Assembly were shut for hours yesterday, thus forcing members and staff to abandon their cars along the road to trek into the premises of the federal parliament.

Before Mark announced the closure of the National Assembly, he had earlier met with the principal officers of the Senate behind closed doors in his office over the pandemonium.

He later paid a visit to the lower legislative chamber, seemingly to calm frayed nerves, but was heckled by members of the House who accused him of deploying security forces to the National Assembly without their knowledge. Mark who looked shocked by the accusation did not utter a word.

His Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, in a statement later, said Mark was equally tear gassed when he visited the House.

“An embarrassed Senator Mark, who had rushed to the House of Representatives’ chamber, ostensibly to address the situation, on hearing the development, was thoroughly tear gassed along with his colleagues while returning to his office after conferring with the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal and his deputy Emeka Ihedioha,” the statement said.

House Rejects Emergency Rule

But before Mark could order the closure of the National Assembly, lawmakers in the House who had managed to gain entry into the complex entered into an executive session, following which they resolved to turn down the president’s request for the extension of emergency rule in the North-east.

Instead, the House members asked the president to invoke the powers granted him by the constitution to deploy troops to any troubled zone, adding that previous extensions they had approved did not address the security breaches in the area.

They asked the president to exercise his powers as provided by Section 8 of the Armed Forces Act and the constitution, which grants him the power to deploy troops to areas of conflicts.

According to the House Chairman on Media and Publicity, the House did not extend the emergency rule as they “thought that the state of emergency is not yielding any result”.

The lower chamber reached the decision to refer a motion moved by the Deputy Majority Leader, Hon. Leo Ogor.

Mohammed explained that “Sections 13, 14, 217 (2) and 218 in the constitution are ancillary to the argument upon which Ogor moved his motion”.

The House spokesman expressed hope that governors of the affected states, the military, the Civilian JTF, local hunters and all others currently involved in the efforts to curb the insurgency, would take advantage of the deployment to end the crisis.

He also condemned the action of the police, stating: “We express dismay over the drama that happened when we were entering. But this is part of the tests of democracy.

“You gave us an assignment (referring to the president) asking the speaker to expeditiously treat the request for the state of emergency. But we were prevented from entry. At a point, tear gas canisters were thrown at the speaker more than three times.

“We are not criminals. We are lawmakers. We swore to protect the constitution. And no matter what, we will do just that. We condemn this act in all its entirety. In the 21st century, it is as if we are still in a banana republic."

Following the anarchy that greeted the entry of the speaker into the premises of the parliament, the House reverted to its December 3 date of resumption.

The speaker’s spokesman tweeted that his principal had said during the House’s closed-door session that, “House has agreed to adjourn to December 3. We are under siege. As such, we cannot deliberate on the state of emergency.”

Threat of Impeachment

However, despite turning down the president’s request for the extension of emergency rule and adjourning to December 3, lawmakers in the House, led by their APC colleagues were still bent on extracting their pound of flesh, following threats to impeach Jonathan and Ihedioha.

This, according to some sources, was part of the deliberations raised on the floor of the House when the legislators held an executive session.

It was gathered that in their bid to pay the executive arm back, the legislators resolved to commence impeachment proceedings against Jonathan and Ihedioha for their breaching of the constitution.

According to a House source, over 120 signatures had been collected towards this end.

“The president has breached and violated the 1999 Constitution and is therefore liable to be impeached under Section 143 of the constitution. Therefore, I want to hereby submit that, come December 3 we will begin to invoke and draw up articles of impeachment,” the House member declared.

Asked why the House decided to impeach the president now, when he was alleged to have committed impeachable offences in the past, the lawmaker said the House had long before the issue of Tambuwal been collecting signatures, but it was only heightened yesterday because of what transpired at the House.

“I want to assure you that we are committed this time around and no amount of blackmail or intimidation would cow us to abdicate our constitutional responsibility which we signed with our employers the (Nigerian people) to stand firm and protect their interest.

“What is more interesting was that majority of the lawmakers that signed the impeachment notice were members of the PDP,” he claimed.

But the deputy majority leader dismissed the move as inconsequential, stating: “I don’t think Mr. President has anything to do with what happened. I believe that the president should be totally isolated from this matter.

“If for any reason anybody wants to talk about impeachment, that person should come out and address the issue. But I can tell you categorically that any attempt to raise the issue of impeachment in respect of the House, it’s going be a very difficult one because the president has not committed any offence against anybody in that House, neither has he violated any constitutional provision.

“The issue of impeachment is inconsequential, because he who is alleging must be ready to prove. You can’t just come and say you want to impeach without having anything to prove against the president.

“I want to appeal that this issue of impeachment should not be part of this discussion. As far as I am concerned, it's inconsequential, it has nothing to do under the subject matter.”

Ogor said he apologised to Tambuwal for the way the police treated him, adding: “It is unfortunate that the altercation happened. It was totally uncalled for. And on behalf of the House of Representatives, my sincere apologies go to him.

“I do hope and pray that this will be the last of this experience, because I believe that as parliamentarians, we should be able to address our issues internally. And I believe that this issue will be put to rest as soon as possible.”

Police: Why Tambuwal Was Blocked

The police, nonetheless, issued a statement on Thursday explaining why they tried to bar the speaker and his colleagues from gaining entry into the National Assembly, saying it was “done to forestall the breakdown of law and order based on an intelligence report of the invasion of the National Assembly by hoodlums”.

In a statement by Emmanule Ojukwu, Force Public Relations Officer, the police said it promptly deployed its personnel to the premises to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

“Following an intelligence report of a likely invasion of the House of Representatives by hoodlums and thugs, the Nigeria Police Force promptly deployed its personnel to the premises to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

“Consequently, the Police cordoned off the area and began screening of all members and visitors alike.

“In the course of this lawful exercise, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal arrived the venue with a motley crowd, who broke the cordon, assaulted the police and evaded due process and the police had a duty to restore order and normalcy, using lawful means.

“The IG seizes this medium to warn all political actors and their followers to respect constituted authority and due process and to desist from the use of thugs to pursue their agenda,” it said.

The police said it shall continually apply all lawful means to prevent a breakdown of law and order in all segments of the society and shall apply the full weight of the law on any political actor who violates the peace and security of the nation.

Sambo Meets with Ihedioha, Others

Despite the reason adduced by the police for their action, Vice-President Namadi Sambo last night waded into the crisis when he summoned a meeting with some leaders of the House behind closed doors. 

The meeting was held in the vice-president's office and lasted for an hour.
Ihedioha, who was in attendance, refused to field questions from State House correspondents on what transpired during the meeting. He was accompanied to the meeting by House Leader, Hon. Mulikat Akanda, and Ogor.

However, THISDAY gathered that the way forward with respect to resolving the impasse and calming frayed nerves was discussed.

Source: Thisdaylive