By Alex Olise
There are diverse reactions currently trailing the National Assembly mace claimed to have been recovered by Police in Abuja this morning after it was forcefully taken away by some hoodlums at the National Assembly Complex on Wednesday.
Sources from the National Assembly and the police disclosed to National Daily that the mace brought by the Police this morning which they claim to have been recovered under the flyover this morning in Abuja is currently being screened by selected politicians in the National Assembly and top principal officers from the Force Headquarters who were sent by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris after eyebrow were raised and questions over whether the mace claimed to have been recovered by the Police is the real mace taken away by the thugs.
The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Adeniran Aremu, a Superintendent of Police (SP) had in a statement this morning claimed that the mace had been recovered under the flyover before Abuja city gate where it was abandoned by the thugs.
According to him, a high-powered police investigation team recovered the symbol of legislative authority, adding that a discreet investigation to apprehend the suspects involved in the theft had been launched.
“The police teams engaged in massive raids of identified criminal spots/flashpoints, stop and search operations, visibility and confidence-building patrols, intelligence gathering which forced the suspected miscreants to abandon the Mace at a point under the flyover before the City Gate, where a patriotic passerby saw it and alerted the police,” the statement added.
It commended members of the public, most especially motorists within Abuja metropolis for their support, cooperation and timely information during the rigorous ‘stop and search’ operations for the recovery of the mace.