House crisis: Reps in bloody battle

•Melaye, reporters, others injured •11 lawmakers suspended till June 2011

THE floor of the House of Representatives was turned to a battlefield yesterday, as Speaker Dimeji Bankole’s loyalists pounced on opponents, who wanted him sacked over an alleged N9 billion fraud.

Blows were exchanged; clothes were torn, and some journalists trying to capture the scene were brutalised, as the loyalists forced members of the group, known as the Progressives, out of the House Chamber. At the end of the fracas, some of the lawmakers were rushed to the hospital.

Leader of the opposition group, Dino Melaye, and some of his followers, left the Chamber with their clothes in tatters.

The pro-Bankole group later moved a motion suspending 11 members of the opposition indefinitely.

Melaye and members of his group had on Monday presented copies of a comprehensive petition, on the alleged misappropriation of about N9billion allocated to the House in the 2008 and 2009 Budgets, to the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri, who vowed that the agency would spare no offender.

The rowdy session started, when the leadership was about to raise a motion suspending the 11 members, who also tried to prevent sitting. The situation lasted for hours before Bankole’s loyalists could dislodge those in opposition from the Chamber.

The suspended members were: Melaye, West Idahosa, Independence Ogunewe, Solomon Awhinawi, Austin Nwachukwu, Abba Anas, Gbenga Oduwaiye, Kayode Amusan, Gbenga Onigbogi, Bitrus Kaze and Doris Uboh.

Although, the speaker claimed that those suspended were the members that exposed the financial position of the House, in all the briefing and the visit to EFCC, Oduwaiye and Amusan were not visible in the struggle.

Immediately the speaker entered the chamber to commence the day’s activities after two weeks of recess, Melaye and his group tried to disrupt proceedings by shouting: No! No! No!

Alarmed by the development, the speaker’s loyalists rushed to protect the mace.

Then, Bankole, who was seated, started threatening that if members of the group refused to stop the protest they would go.

The commotion got bigger, when members of Melaye’s group perceived that the leadership had prepared and concluded to suspend them for their actions.

In one corner, a lawmaker, Ishaku Bawa from Taraba State, gave Ogunewe a blow that injured him; 15 other members surrounded Melaye, and tore his cloth, then dragged him out of the Chamber.

Nwanchukwu was striped naked, as members accused him of bringing dangerous weapon into the Chamber; Igwe sustained injuries and was rushed to the National Assembly Clinic, from where he was referred to the National Hospital, in Abuja.

One by one, Bankole’s loyalists descended on the opposition until they were all dislodged from the Chamber, before the Speaker apologised to Nigerians on what happened and called Chile Ugbauwa to move the motion.

He said that for failing to adhere to the provisions of the Legislative House (Power and Privileges) Act, Code of Conduct for members and Rules of the House in stating their grievances and for taking their matter to the public domain with the view to maliciously bring the image of the House into disrepute, “I hereby move the House to suspend the 11 members indefinitely pending the outcome of investigation by the Ethics and Privileges Committee”.

While speaking after the sitting, Farouk Lawal, who was the chairman of the Integrity Group, explained that when they led the group that sacked the former Speaker, Mrs. Olubunmi Etteh, they followed due process, but this group failed to explore all the opportunities open to them.

Lawal faulted the group by saying that the issue “is not that they went to the EFCC, but they failed to make use of the internal mechanism and up till now there was no petition against Bankole or the leadership”.

Two reporters of the Nigerian Compass covering the House of Representatives, Wole Oladimeji and Julius Toba were also manhandled by policemen and people suspected to be Bankole’s loyalists.

The reporters also claimed that they were attacked by the sergeants-at-arm.

Also attacked was Gbemiga Olamikan, a photo journalist with Vanguard Newspaper whose camera was seized for taking pictures while the lawmakers were being beaten, and Rotimi Akinwumi of Daily Independent Newspaper, whose handsets were seized, after his cloth was torn.

It took over an hour before other journalists and some visitors to the National Assembly could get the police, led by one Shehu Mohammed, a Superintendent, to let the reporters go.

Journalists, however, staged a walk-out from the press gallery, protesting the way their colleagues were treated, and the presence of hired thugs at the National Assembly.

Nigerians,when shall we change from our wicked and dastard way of acting.Grown ups fighting,stripping themselves naked in public.The wrath of God is high up against us.Things are not moving well for us.The presidency should act now and let the future of our kids be secured now or we shall die to stay in hell without peace.EFCC

The suspension of the 11 members till the end of the session (June 2011) only reveals that the rest of the house members are PERFECTLY CORRUPT THIEVES.

Meanwhile, Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo yesterday condemned the action of the lawmakers, which he described as “a show of shame”.He also condemned the suspension order clamped on the 11 lawmakers, who dared to probe the Speaker over the allegation of corrupt enrichment and high handedness.

Keyamo maintained that if the anti-corruption crusade was not mere sloganeering, the EFCC should rise up to the occasion and investigate this flagrant abuse of office without minding whose ox is gored.

“If the slogan of the anti-corruption war is to “see something and say something”, how come those who “say something” when they “see something” get punished in this crude manner? What is the fate of the anti-corruption war when whistleblowers are subjected to indignities and name-calling? I am sad, very sad indeed, that we have sunk to this low state of moral debauchery. The obvious silence of the Presidency over the earlier report of the N2.3billion car scam that was reportedly sent to it for “consideration” is what has led to this present display of crass arrogance and impudent show of power by the leadership of the House of Representatives in suspending and assaulting members who have raised their voices against corruption and corrupt practices,” Keyamo stated.

The lawyer also called on President Jonathan to immediately release the report of the N2.3billion car scam reportedly sent to the Presidency, so as not to constitute a cog in the wheel of the anti-corruption crusade. He called on well meaning Nigerians to speak out with one voice and rise against “this extreme injustice in the House”.

May God save us from this LEGISLATHIEVES.
They will never fight to pass the budget in due time or fight to ensure swift ending of Asuu strikes but when they see anything that will reduce the money they eat,they will start fighting.

Here we see a demonstration of injustice and lawlessness in the highest form,I guess, this is how they won thier elections after all.

Bankole has failed the youths just like Madam Patricia etteh failed the women,I expected him to answer the corruption charges leveled against him instead of dismissing those people so that the case will die down.

And he is busy trying to contest for Ogun State Governorship.You had better face the music now because the drum beat will not be silent.

Bankole has failed the youths just like Madam Patricia etteh failed the women,I expected him to answer the corruption charges leveled against him instead of dismissing those people so that the case will die down.

And he is busy trying to contest for Ogun State Governorship.You had better face the music now because the drum beat will not be silent.

Nigerians have condemed the show of shame at the House of Representatives yesterday where lawmakers shamelessly engaged one another in a free for all.

In his reaction, spokesman of the Save Nigeria Group, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, described the lawmakers’ action as a show of shame, indicating that the House of Representatives was populated by thugs.

“We have moved away from that kind of politics; Nigerians should know that they can’t leave the scene for agberos. They should come out and vote them out,” he stated.

Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay described the conduct of the lawmakers as unfortunate, saying that it was the beginning of the restoration process for the nation’s democracy.

“It has exposed how they have been looting us. It is now time for the press and the civil society to take it from there so that we don’t have thieves representing us,” he said.

According to Chris Akiri, Solicitor, Supreme Court, “it was really a show of shame and very unpalatable for both parties to have acted that way without a modicum of decorum.

“They don’t know what they are doing in that place. They don’t know what they are elected to do; they thought they were elected to fight and exhibit their animalistic behaviour. They have turned the Assembly into an arena of wild animals.”

Founder, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, Comrade Debo Adeniran denounced the action of the lawmakers, saying that it was a way to tell Nigerians that they were representing themselves.
“What is the fate of the anti-corruption war when whistleblowers are subjected to indignity and name-calling? I am sad, very sad indeed, that we have sunk to this low state of moral debauchery. The obvious silence of the Presidency over the earlier report of the 2.3billion naira car scam that was reportedly sent to it for consideration is what has led to this present display of crass arrogance and impudent show of power by the leadership of the House of Representatives in suspending and assaulting members who have raised their voices against corruption and corrupt practices,” he added.

Another had his hand twisted and dislocated after he tried to use pepper spray on a fellow deputy, a local journalist said.
Lawmaker Farouk Lawan said it was “a very bad day for members of the house”.

A group of parliamentarians have accused the speaker of misappropriating 60 millon dollars of public funds between 2008 and 2009.

It should not surprised you then how they speedily pass the 10 billion naira celebration of corruption vaganza.

I wish they should all be probed.

Fellow 9jirians,let them be.Let them continue fighting among themselves since they think they can embezzle our funds and get away with it.Its going 2 look like that of the people of Moab,Ammon and Seir killing themselves but were intially planning of killing everybody in Judah.What was the reaction from the people of Judah ?
They only sang praises to God and God heard the cry of His people(ii chronicles 20:20-25).
Brothers and sisters,let us pray that God should disgrace anyone who is thinking of gathering our tax as if it was he's only.We cant fight them but we can fight them through prayers.