MEN of the Bauchi Police Command, on Monday night took over the state House of Assembly complex to forestall a total breakdown and order in the state.
This is coming few hours after some suspected hoodlums attempted to burn down the complex on Sunday.
Earlier on Monday, another set of hoodlums, attacked some members of the assembly in their guest house, smashing cars and destroying properties in their sight.
The hoodlums, numbering about 50, stormed the guest house, where the lawmakers were holding a meeting, a few meters away from the Government House, and tried to chase them away.
The incident was a twist in the leadership crisis rocking the Assembly.
Narrating his experience, one of the lawmakers who was injured in the attack, Honourable Ado Wakili representing Burra Constituency said, “We were inside having a meeting when we suddenly heard noise and people banging on the gate. As we rushed out to see what was happening, the hoodlums rushed in holding guns, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons.
“All of us scampered for safety and in the process many of us, including me, were injured. You can see my face, just below my eyes. They really turned everything upside down. By the time we came out, they had smashed all our cars and the windows of the house.”
Another member of the Assembly, Kawuwa Shehu Dam- ina condemned the action, saying that it was uncalled for.
He said he was baffled such was happening even when it was not yet electioneering campaign time.
The security guard of the guest house told journalists that the hoodlums came on motorcycles holding different dangerous weapons.
“We all had to run for our dear lives. That was how they gained entrance into the building and did the damages.”
Reacting to the development, the Special Adviser to the Bauchi State Governor on State and National Assembly Liaison, Sani Muhammad Burra dissociated himself and the executive arm from the attack.
He described it as uncalled for at a time efforts were on to amicably resolved the leadership crisis rocking the Assembly.
He called on security agencies to immediately arrest those involved in the criminal act.
Earlier the leadership crisis that engulfed the Assembly took a new dimension on Sunday night as some yet-to-be-identified persons tried to gain entrance into the Assembly complex to set it ablaze.
Information gathered at the Assembly revealed that the persons numbering more than 50 forced their way into the gate at about 11pm on Sunday, burning tyres and other objects with the intention of setting the complex on fire.
A source told the Nigerian Tribune that the security men on guard raised the alarm before armed security personnel arrived to disperse the unknown persons. Confirming the development, Special Adviser on State and National Assembly Liaison to the Bauchi governor, Sani Mohammed said: “Some unknown persons last night had attempted to burn the Honourable House Complex as a result of which the security persons have taken over the place to avoid a breakdown of law and order.
“Immediately I was contacted, I informed the state commissioner of Police on behalf of the state government for necessary and prompt action. He too immediately mobilized personnel to the complex to ensure that no damage is done.
“As you are aware, the crisis is that of the leadership of the House, not against the Executive. We are trying to pacify the 22 Lawmakers to wait for their colleagues, who are presently on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia and Israel before they will do whatever they want to do.”
Burra assured that the executive is not in any way interfering in the internal problems of the legislature, but doing everything to ensure that peace prevailed.
Meanwhile, the aggrieved members of the Assembly have vowed have said there was no going back on their resolve to remove the present leadership if they refused to honorably resign from office as demanded.
Credit : THE TRIBUNE.
