NASS/APC data centre police invasion: Nda-Isaiah blasts presidency

PUBLISHER of Leadership Newspapers and All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential aspirant, Dr. Sam Ndah-Isaiah, has condemned last week’s invasion of National Assembly complex by the police and Lagos APC data centre by the Department of State Service, DSS, describing it as a deliberate act by the Presidency to collapse democracy in the country.

This came even as DSS released 25 out of 28 arrested persons at the APC data centre in Ikeja.
Ndah-Isaiah who made the remarks, yesterday, in an interview with Vanguard on the state of the nation, noted that the rising impunity and lawlessness on the part of the Federal Government in the country’s body polity was scary.

He said,“I think the President deliberately wanted to collapse the system. I don’t know why the stakeholders in the democracy are trying to pull it down. This is not the kind of democracy we are asking for. All of us fought the military to have democracy. What is happening in National Assembly, the president is behind it. The talk about the Inspector General of Police, IGP, is not the case. How could IG invade National Assembly, if not ordered directly from the president? not even the vice president can give such an order.

“This is the president using the state institutions for personal attacks, bugging the opposition party offices. The level of lawlessness, the level of impunity and total absence of rule of law in this country is scary. We have to rescue ourselves. I am sure Nigerians are not ready to walk into an open disaster. If he (President) wants to use these tactics to harass the opposition I don’t think it will work.”

DSS invasion of APC data office
Meantime, the Publicity Secretary of Lagos APC, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, yesterday, confirmed the release of 25 out of the 28 arrested staff at party data centre by DSS. Igbokwe said the DSS released the staff after interrogating them adding that they were asked to report back on Monday for further investigation.

Igbokwe, however, said that three were still being held at press time as 28 persons were actually arrested on the day of the invasion by the DSS. while calling for an independent enquiry into the armed invasion, he said that, “nothing, not even the deployment of illegal brute force, would deter Nigerians from pursuing the truth and setting themselves free from the shackles of oppression by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP led Federal Government.”

Govt raises alarm over scammers impersonating Fashola
The Lagos State Government, weekend, again urged residents to be wary of fraudsters who create fake facebook accounts of Governor Babatunde Fashola to extort money from unsuspecting people. In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Mr. Hakeem Bello, reiterated that the governor does not do business on facebook adding that although he has a facebook and twitter accounts, those are used strictly for communicating government policies and programmes when necessary.

“Governor Fashola SAN, does not do business on facebook. He does not operate a facebook account that asks people to make cash donations in any bank account”.

Bello explained that the caution was informed when the state government’s attention was drawn to the latest activities of a certain individual who attempted to defraud a popular artiste by demanding that a certain percentage of money be paid into an account to facilitate the processing of a large sum of money in the SURE-P Empowerment Fund for the artiste, stressing that “members of the public should beware of such scammers.”

While warning the people against falling prey to such fraudsters who are impersonating the governor in attempts to swindle innocent residents on the various social media platforms, Bello said that security men were already on the trail of the conman and would leave no stone unturned to ensure that he and his likes are brought to justice.

The Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Hon. Ikuforiji, has, meantime, condemned the attack on one of the offices of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, saying it is a dangerous signal and a threat to the democratic process.

Speaking to reporters in Lagos, the Speaker said few days after the ugly incidents at the House of Representatives where the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal and most of the APC lawmakers were prevented from gaining access to the House, and Ekiti State where seven lawmakers out of 26 impeached the Speaker, the invasion of the APC office by officials of the Department of State Service and the Police is clear indication that the democratic process was in grave danger.

He said there was no way the DSS and the Police would have acted without order from above, adding that the blatant abuse of power and rule of law was becoming the hallmark of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. Ikuforiji said,“What is really going on in our country? Just few days after the Lagos House condemned in the strongest term the ugly scenario at the National Assembly, the invasion of the APC office is uncalled for and should be condemned by all Nigerians who want a country where the rule of law and due process take precedence over barbarism. This is totally unacceptable.”

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