Towards this end, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Isa Hamma Misau, and his counterpart in the Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, have revealed plans to sponsor a motion to urge the executive to set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe the incident.
This was contained in a joint statement they both signed in Abuja on Thursday.
They explained that it would be in the national interest to have an open inquiry which would enable Nigerians to know what led to the siege and those behind the plot to illegally take over the National Assembly.
The two senators said one of the priority assignments of the Senate on resumption would be a motion on the floor in which the National Assembly siege and the rape on democracy would be debated and appropriate resolutions would be taken on how to redress the situation.
The statement partly read, “Is it not curious that the Federal Government has not deemed it necessary to constitute a judicial panel to conduct an impartial and public inquiry into the recent siege to the National Assembly which amounted to a coup against democracy in the country?
“The Federal Government cannot afford to sweep this treasonable act under the carpet or commit it to a secret in-house committee that may fail to do justice to the matter by treating the heist like business as usual.
“Sacking the former Director-General of the DSS, Mr Lawal Daura, does not end this. That is just a knee-jack, spontaneous reaction. We now need to understand how to cut off cancer.
“The National Assembly must insist on getting to the root of the case. We must understand the causes of the invasion, unravel the brains behind the anti-democratic action in order to bring the perpetrators to book and prevent future re-occurrences.
“The inquiry must not be subjected to executive manipulation and cover-up. We must ensure transparency and that is why an open judicial inquiry is what is needed now. A judicial commission of enquiry, holding its investigation in an open environment will help.
“This we believe would serve as a deterrent to any person or group of persons that may want to contemplate such condemnable action in future.”
The Senators cautioned Nigeria’s security forces not to allow themselves to be used to derail the nation’s democracy.
Post a Comment
Post a Comment