DSS invades Ekiti Assembly, arrests members; Ozekhome decries invasion, says ‘it is highly dictatorial’

The Ekiti State House of Assembly, at the weekend, cried out over the invasion of the Assembly Complex on Friday by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and abduction of some of its members, warning that it would not condone dictatorial tendencies in the current democratic era.
The House raised the alarm at a press conference addressed by the Speaker, Kola Oluwawole, his deputy, Segun Adewumi, Chairman, House Committee on Health, Dr
Babajide Omotoso, and other lawmakers not affected by
the DSS abduction, on Saturday.
In a statement at the briefing, Oluwawole condemned the manner in which the DSS operatives stormed the Assembly Complex, about 3 p.m., on Friday, shooting sporadically into the air and sending staff and members scampering for safety, after which four of the legislators around were taken to an unknown destination.
A statement by the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Chief Olugboyega Aribisogan, which detailed the development, added that various committee members of the House were having meetings connected with their oversight functions at the time of the incident.
He said it was after more than six hours that one of the affected lawmakers, Akanni Afolabi, representing Efon constituency, was able to contact his colleagues, disclosing that he was whisked to Abuja by the security men, adding that the whereabouts of the remaining three legislators was yet to be known.
“We have called you here to intimate the public through your various media, the clandestine plot by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government to destabilise the Ekiti State government, using the instrumentalities of the Department of State Services (DSS).
“Yesterday, the House of Assembly chamber was invaded by armed men of the DSS, not minding that various committees of the House were meeting. More than 10 DSS men, who were armed to the teeth, invaded the Assembly Complex, shooting sporadically into the air, thereby causing panic among members and staff of the House of Assembly, who had to scamper for safety.
“At the end of the commotion created by this barbaric act, we
discovered that four of our members could not be found. It was only this morning that we were able to establish that Honourable Afolabi Akanni, representing Efon Constituency, was abducted and taken to Abuja. The whereabout of three other members is still unknown as we speak, and reasons for the invasion and abduction of our members are
not known,” he lamented.
Oluwawole laid the blame of the invasion and abduction of his colleagues at the door step of the Federal Government, induced by the APC, vowing that their known plot to “harass and intimidate” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in the state would never work.
“However, we got it on good authority that the script now being acted by the DSS is part of the APC and President Buhari’s clandestine plot to cripple the Ekiti State Government by arresting and detaining top
functionaries of the government. The plot is to harass, intimidate and embarrass top officials of the Ayodele Fayose-led government because of his critical stance on the Buhari-led government.
“We are aware that 18 of our members have been pencilled in for harassment and the game plan is to harass them to submission, with a view to coercing them into signing an already prepared notice of impeachment of the governor and his deputy.
“However, we wish to inform those orchestrating the harassment and intimidation of officials of the Ekiti State government, especially honourable members of the State House of Assembly that this is 2016 and not 2006. The same tactics used 10 years ago to truncate democracy in Ekiti State will not work this time,” Oluwawole added.
He maintained that the House would never make itself available for anyone to destabilise a democratically-elected government in the state, adding that the DSS drama that played out in Akwa Ibom State last year shrouded in secrecy was what was being re-enacted in Ekiti State.
“We, therefore, wish to tell the APC agents of political instability that this time around, this House of Assembly will not be available for any ungodly use. We also wish to remind Nigerians of how in September last year, the Federal Government invaded the Akwa Ibom State Government House with armed men of the DSS.
“Up till today, Nigerians are yet to be told officially why, in a
federal system of government in which federating units enjoy some
degree of autonomy, the Government House occupied by a governor who
enjoys the same immunity enjoyed by the President as provided by the
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was invaded by
armed men of the DSS.
“While we are not afraid of persecution from anyone or government
agency, including the DSS, we wish to state that the level at which
the Buhari-led Federal Government is taking political vendetta and
muzzling of opposition both in the Peoples PDP and within the APC is
dangerous to the survival of democracy in the country.
“Nigeria is not a banana republic that can be ruled anyhow by anyone
and Mr Lawal Daura (from Katsina) and his men, who are playing exactly
the same role played between 1984 and 1985 by the National Security
Organisation (NSO) under Lawal Rafindadi (from Katsina) should know
that this reign of brute force over constitutional democracy will
fail. This is because we have seen them operate before and here they
are now, trying to take us back to that inglorious era of dictatorship
and barbarism where the DSS (then NSO) was used to oppress Nigerians,
throwing them in jail without trial. This time around, we are in a
democracy that can never accommodate that 1984 era of draconian rule.
“Lastly, let it be reiterated once again that this House of Assembly
is a partner in the progress of the Ekiti State government under the able leadership of Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose. Therefore, the Abuja-based agents of destabilisation should get it into their heads that we will never be harassed or intimidated into buying into their sinister agenda,” the Speaker said.
In his swift reaction to the invasion and arrest, constitutional lawyer and activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said: “The action of the DSS in invading the Ekiti State House of Assembly and taking away legislators is highly condemnable, highly dictatorial and very, very undemocratic. A House of Assembly is hallowed and sacred and should never be desecrated on any account.
“The DSS is primarily responsible for security matters and for intelligence gathering within Nigeria, for the protection of senior government officials, the President and governors. It is neither the police nor EFCC. The invasion is more curious and detestable, happening as it did, in Ekiti State where the governor, Ayodele Fayose, has been a known critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, his government and the party, APC.
“The impression must not be given that the present government, which rode to power on the crest of popular opposition and critical dissent is muzzling opposition, or browbeating and intimidating those who hold different opinions.
“For there to be an invasion of a House of Assembly is a very serious thing which goes against the grain of democratic practice and observance of the rule of law. Our constitutional democracy envisages robust opposition because power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
“Nigerians’ freedoms, liberties and rights should be allowed to flourish and should not be abridged or decimated on the altar of political expediency.
“Power itself is ephemeral. Its wielders should always act with discretion, respect for the constitution and extant laws. I call the on the DSS to immediately release the legislators or charge them to any court of the land”.