Nnamani calls for probe of mace theft
The police have returned the mace which was stolen from the senate about 24 hours after some hoodlums invaded the upper legislative chamber on Wednesday.
It would be recalled that some thugs, believed to be loyal to and working for the embattled senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Ovie Omo-Agege, had invaded the senate chambers during a plenary and made away with the mace.
The police, today, recovered the mace under a bridge before the city gate in Abuja and took it to the national assembly.
NewsGazette gathered that around noon, deputy inspector-general of police, Habila Joshak, brought back the mace and handed it over to the clerk of the national assembly, Mohammed Omolori.
Omolori later took the mace to the senate chamber and handed it over to the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu.
Ekweremadu, who presided over the executive session of the senate, said the stolen mace had been recovered and brought back to the upper legislative chamber.
Meanwhile, former senate president, Ken Nnamani has asked the federal government to set up a panel to investigate the incident with a view to ascertaining the role played by the security agencies and bringing the perpetrators to book.
He said: “There should be a high-level investigation. Is there any complicity? What happened to the police guarding the place? What about the SSS?” he said.
“One person could have planned this thing. They came in, took the mace and left. Did they disappear with helicopter? What were the police doing? What were the security agencies doing? We should set up a high-level investigation before apportioning any blame.
“The mace is the symbol of legislative authority. If you see people bowing down in the Senate, it is the mace they are bowing down to and not the occupant of the office of the Senate President. We have got to the level where the people disregard the mace?
“I have never seen anything like this before. It is like the day the Chibok girls were abducted in the full glare of the security. There are so many security (personnel) in the National Assembly and so how did they get in?
“If you are going from Onitsha to Enugu, there are so many security checkpoints there. Checkpoints are mounted in places where they are not required.
“I am aware that before people are admitted into the chamber, somebody has to move a quick motion to allow the person in.
“So how did these people go into the chamber to do that in the day time even with excessive coverage?
