Police shut Ondo Assembly

Police have shut the Ondo State House of Assembly to prevent a breakdown of law between two opposing groups of lawmakers. The factions are those loyal to Malachi Coker and Jumoke Akindele respectively.

A group of lawmakers purported Akindele was impeached as speaker of the assembly and replaced with Coker, but the latter said she was not. Akindele maintained that her said removal didn’t meet the requisite constitutional requirement.

Signs of imminent fracas loomed on the assembly early Monday, after the Coker group entered the chamber as 6:00 a.m.‎ on Monday. Coker was said to have sat on the speaker’s seat prepared to begin sitting. Having got wind of it, the Akindele faction stormed the assembly and demanded that Coker vacate the seat. But Coker reiterated Akindele’s impeachment.