The inspector general of police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris has submitted the interim report on police investigation into the invasion of the national assembly complex by masked Department of State Services (DSS) personnel on August 7, 2017.
It would be recalled that on that day, the DSS operatives arrived at the national assembly as early as 6am, took positions at the entrances and prevented anyone, including the lawmakers, from accessing the premises of the parliament.
It took many hours of local and international pressure before the masked DSS operatives acquiesced to leave the parliament building.
Following the siege, the director general of the service, Mr. Lawal Daura was relieved of his appointment and a new spy chief, Mr. Matthew Seiyefa appointed in acting capacity.
In the report dated August 8 and addressed to the acting president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the police chief indicted the sacked director general and recommended among other things the questioning of the DSS operatives who took part in the invasion and the search of their houses.
The report is reproduced below:
Interim investigation report on criminal conspiracy to wit: trespass, intimidation and unlawful invasion of national assembly complex with intent likely to cause breach of public peace.
I write to most respectfully apprise Your Excellency that on 7th August, 2018 at about 1314hrs, following a petition letter No. OVP/SGF/7818/381 dated 7th August, 2018 from your esteemed office, to investigate and report findings against Lawal Musa Daura, the sacked Director General, Department of State Security Service, a team of cracked operatives headed by Commissioner of Police, Garba Baba Umar were deployed to respond immediately and take the suspects into custody for interrogation and investigations. 2. It was reported that on 7th August, 2018 at about 0600hrs, the then Director General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Lawal Musa Daura, did conspired with his operatives wearing hood and mask invaded the National Assembly complex. They barricaded the road to the National Assembly and were intimidating members of the National Assembly and staff by forcefully preventing them from performing their legitimate and constitutional duties thereby committing a crime with intent to incite and weep up sentiment of the National Assembly members against the Federal Government of Nigeria which is a breach of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria hence the complaint.
- The principal suspect, Mr. Lawal Musa Daura, was formally arrested and interrogated in line with the allegation made against him.
- Following the interrogation by our intelligence operatives, the following facts emerged:
- That on 7/8/2018, the suspect Lawal Musa Daura illegally used his position as the then Director General of Department of State Security Service conspired with his officers and men who wore hoods and masks, invaded the National Assembly Complex thereby preventing and forcing the peaceful members and staff of the National Assembly from gaining access to the complex without any element of crime committed or an invitation by the leadership of the National Assembly.
- That the suspect Mr. Lawal Musa Daura in his statement confessed and accepted to have deployed operatives of the State Security Service on a claimed of intelligence report, that unauthorised persons were planning to smuggle undisclosed dangerous weapons and incriminating items into the National Assembly Complex. He did not inform the Acting President neither did he share the information with the Nigeria Police force or other sister security agencies.
iii. That so many distinguished Senators, Honourable Members and staff of the National Assembly who wanted access to the National Assembly complex, suffered humiliation, intimidation and were forcefully chased out of the Assembly Complex at gun point by operatives of the State Security Service wearing hoods and marks.
- FINDINGS:-
- On 7/8/2018, the State Security Services, invaded the National Assembly on the instructions of the then DG Department of State Service, Mr. Lawal Musa Daura.
- It was also established that Senators, Honourable Members and Staff of the National Assembly were prevented from entering the National Assembly Complex.
