Attack on the Senate sponsored, an act of terrorism– Dogara

The Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives. Yakubu Dogara, has alleged that the recent attack on the upper House of Assembly, the Senate, by hoodlums was sponsored, and an act of terrorism.

Ripples Nigeria had reported last week’s attack on the Senate during which the mace was forcibly removed by thugs.

However, speaking on Tuesday during debate on a motion in plenary, Hon Dogara said: “As a matter of fact, in the institution of the National Assembly, there is no place for anarchists, there is no place for mobsters, there is no place for cultists, and there is no place for terrorists. We cannot allow anyone, no matter how highly placed or lowly placed to terrorise this institution.”

He added that there was no justifiable reason to sponsor an attack on the Senate, and warned that failure to curtail such incidents would spur similar attacks on other arms of government, equating an attack on the legislature with an attack on the Presidency.

“I listened to debates on social media and conventional media channels where commentators, sometimes even enlightened commentators are trying to draw moral equivalence between the position of the Senate and the act of treason that was perpetuated within the premises of the National Assembly. I want to say there is no amount of anger that should lead any Member of the National Assembly to procure thugs to come and carry out a treasonable act within the premises of this hallowed institution,” he said.

He added, “It may interest you to know that the National Assembly premises are even better secured than the courts, so nothing stops us from invading courts henceforth if this precedence is sustained and we won’t want to wait until the Villa itself, the Executive seat of power is attacked before we come up with the appropriate response. I want to say that an attack on the Legislature is an attack on Buhari’s government, an attack on the Judiciary is an attack on Buhari’s government, an attack on the Executive is an attack on Buhari’s government.”

Condemning the formation of associations established for the protection of government officials, the Speaker explained that while freedom of association is a guaranteed right, such groups contravene the foremost legislative duty of ensuring checks and balances on such officials and the offices which they occupy.

“In this parliament, we are guided by procedures; there is no club of Parliamentarians out there anywhere in the world that is dedicated to the protection or defense of any citizens in government positions because by design and composition of Parliament, our duty is to exercise checks on the agencies of government. So when you begin to have associations of honourable members or distinguished senators dedicated to protecting someone, it means you are acting in violation of our very fundamental responsibility, which is to check the excesses of those offices. And I can tell you if we go by that in the name of freedom of association – caucuses of course exist, but for the protection of democracy – but if we are to go this way, what if there’s a forum of parliamentarians in defence of a minister and they begin to hold their meetings? Or an association of parliamentarians in defense of the Judiciary and they begin to hold their meetings? A mockery of democracy will arise on account of that,” he said.

Putting security agencies to task, Dogara said that in other climes, the attack on the Senate would have resulted in mass resignation of security chiefs, especially since the National Assembly has no control over security agents attached to it.

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“It is important that we take a look at what has happened because if this happened in other climes, heads of security agencies would have tendered their resignation letters. The fact that there has been no communication at all from heads of security agencies to principal officers of this institution that this is what happened and this is what they are doing in order to ensure that it doesn’t happen again speaks volumes.”

He decried the growing trend of sycophancy and urged legislators to remain true to their duties and responsibilities as guardians of democracy, and further stated that the institution has a way of rejecting those who attempt to sabotage it.

“It is better that we rise up to the occasion even if it means that individually, we would have to answer our fathers’ names. Even if it means some of us will not come back here as those we succeeded today, we have to take that stand, and for this kind of sycophancy that has grown within the National Assembly, my message to them is very clear; those who have always instigated forces from outside to attack this institution, the institution has developed a process of natural selection. It rejects them.”

“We were attacked in the last House, that one was not even disguised, and those who collaborated with them; members of this great institution, I want to ask a question: where are they today? The same fate awaits any member of this great institution who is conniving with people from outside.”

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