A prominent non-governmental organization – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS
ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has described as unconstitutional and
treasonous, the invasion of the precinct of the National Assembly by
masked armed operatives of Department of State Service (DSS) and the
police.
The Rights group has for the umpteenth time warned the executive branch of
government which controls armed security forces to stop forthwith the
desecration of the legislative arm of government with the subterranean
motive to unseat the leadership of the National Assembly.
HURIWA faulted the invasion of the National Assembly by the armed security
forces when their presence was not occasioned by any official invitation
by either the principal officers of the National Assembly namely the
Senate President, the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, the
Deputy Senate President; the Deputy Speaker or the Clerk of the National
Assembly.
HURIWA has warned the rebellious All progressives congress Senators
plotting to illegally unseat the constituted authority to know that their
illegality will not have the cobstitutional force of legitimacy and
therefore any outcomes of their deliberations for a regime change amounts
to an unmitigated illegality which remains null, void of of no moment.
In a statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and
National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA called on the
United Kingdom, United States, Germany and European Union to use their
collective influences as world leaders of democracy to call on President
Muhammadu Buhari to desist from using armed security forces to arm twist
and undermine the independence of the legislature.
“We strongly condemn this disgraceful conduct of these armed security
operatives of the Department of State Services under the direct control of
the presidency who invaded the National Assembly and inflicted serious
breaches of the fundamental rights of freedom of movement and association
of legitimately elected law makers only because they are of the political
persuasion different from that of the President who is the head of another
branch of government.”
“The illegal moves by the presidency to use the force of arm and crude
tactics to force open the National Assembly is unconstitutional,
despicable and reprehensible.”
“We are by this media statement calling on all Nigerians to speak out and
take all legal and constructive measures to ensure that the presidency is
not permitted to scuttle legislative independence by using fewer members
of the upper legislative chamber to impeach the senate leadership who are
of the Peoples Democratic Party.”
“Apart from constituting a grave threat to constitutional democracy, the
invasion of the premises of the National Assembly is nothing short of a
military coup which is absolutely intolerable and must be rejected by
millions of Nigerians.”