The leadership of the Senate yesterday raised the alarm over alleged plans by the federal government to arrest the principal officers of the Senate and their families by next week.
It also accused the federal government of planning to twist facts regarding Tuesday’s invasion of the National Assembly premises in Abuja by DSS operatives to indict the duo of Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.
Saraki and Ekweremadu in a joint statement signed by their media aides, Yusuph Olaniyonu and Uche Anichukwu stated that after receiving the interim report submitted by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, the Presidency yesterday constituted a closet panel to review the report and submit a final recommendation.
They duo alleged that the federal government had therefore commenced the execution of a plot to implicate them and other People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Senators in last Tuesday’s invasion of the National Assembly.
“We have been reliably informed that instead of the Presidency to set up a public inquiry or judicial commission to probe last Tuesday’s early morning invasion of the National Assembly as being demanded by the general public, they have commenced a process of manipulation and fabrication.
According to the duo, “The Presidency has set up a closet panel, which would work to a predetermined conclusion in which they will now claim that the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President worked in collusion with ex-DG of DSS, Lawal Daura to stage the invasion.
“They want to shield the fact that the previous night before the invasion and up till the early hours of Tuesday, there was a meeting of the APC senators and that the plan was for them to be moved in a Coaster bus into the National Assembly complex later that morning for them to purportedly remove us and select a new Senate President and Deputy Senate President.
“Their plot only failed because the media, particularly social media, Nigerians and international community responded very swiftly as some legislators, who came into the complex were refused entry by gun-wielding, hooded security operatives.
“We hereby reiterate our earlier position that the coup against democracy as represented by last week’s invasion must be probed through an independent judicial commission of inquiry, which will produce a comprehensive report. We reject any manipulated and fabricated investigation”, Saraki and Ekweremadu stated.
The presiding officers added that they have also uncovered a sinister plot in which the government plans to use the anti-graft and security agencies to incarcerate them and some members of their families from next week, all in a bid to break their will and effect their removal.