THE FULL STORY: Nigeria Police Justifies Their Invasion Of The National Assembly Today; Fire Teargas In Parliament Ahead Of Key Vote

Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, in white caftan, with handkerchief pressed to his face, during the tear-gas episode. (Photo source: Lailasblog.com)

Nigerian police today fired tear gas and prevented speaker Aminu Tambuwal from presiding over a session at the National Assembly in Abuja.

Nigerian police fired teargas inside the parliament complex on Thursday, apparently trying to block opposition lawmakers, including the speaker of the lower house, from entering the building for a key security vote.

They have released a statement justifying their action and it reads:

Following an intelligence report of a likely invasion of the House of Representatives by hoodlums and thugs, the Nigeria Police Force promptly deployed its personnel to the premises to prevent a breakdown of law and order. Consequently, the Police condoned the area and began screening of all members and visitors alike. 

In the course of this lawful exercise, Alh. Aminu Tambuwal CFR, arrived the venue with a motley crowd, who broke the cordon, assaulted the Police and evaded due process and
the Police had the duty to restore order and normalcy, using lawful means 

The IGP seizes this medium to warn all political actors and their followers to respect constituted authority and due process and to desist from the use of thugs to pursue their agenda. 

The Nigeria Police shall continually apply all lawful means to prevent a breakdown of law and order in all segments of the society and shall apply the full weight of the law on any political actor who violates the peace and security of the nation.

Ag. CP EMMANUEL C. S. OJUKWU, psc
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
FORCE HEADQUARTERS

- The drama earlier on -

In the fracas, lower house members rejected a government request to extend emergency rule in the northeast region hit hardest by Boko Haram, and announced that the special powers had expired.

Nigerian lawmakers had been scheduled to vote on President Goodluck Jonathan's request to extend the state of emergency in the northeast ©Jewel Samad (AFP)

The opposition had said it opposed prolonging the state of emergency, describing it as a complete failure that had failed to curb Islamist violence.

Political tensions have ratcheted up ahead of elections scheduled for February.

Senate President David Mark, a ruling party stalwart, ordered the immediate closure of both chambers over the teargas incident.

The focus of the police aggression appeared to be lower house speaker Aminu Tambuwal, whose defection to the opposition last month outraged the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The PDP has tried to remove Tambuwal from the speaker's chair and stripped him of his security detail.

- Lawmakers scale fence -

Tambuwal arrived at parliament at about 10:00 am (0900 GMT) before the vote on the emergency extension, his spokesman Imam Imam told AFP.

President Goodluck Jonathan has said the extension is needed to sustain the military offensive against Boko Haram.

But the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the strategy as a complete failure, noting the huge Islamist gains since emergency rule was first imposed in May 2013.

Imam said Tambuwal was moving in a convoy with more than 40 other lawmakers, which police repeatedly tried to stop as they approached the main gate of parliament.

The convoy pressed through several police barricades before officers locked the gate that leads into the parliament complex, he added.

Police attack at National Assembly: Lawmakers scaling gate of National Assembly as Police blocked National Assembly gate in Abuja. Photo: TheCable

Lawmakers began pushing aggressively on the bars to force their way through, with police looking on from the other side, footage on the private Channels television station showed.

Several scaled the gate and then walked with Tambuwal towards the legislative building, the footage showed.

"As soon as we got (to parliament), they insisted he will not enter the chamber," Imam said.

"It was in that midst of confusion that they now used the tear gas on the speaker" and other lawmakers, he added.

Media reports claim the main lobby outside the lower house chamber was filled with tear gas, with bystanders choking as they tried to find their way outside.

Police attack at National Assembly: Lawmakers scaling gate of National Assembly as Police blocked National Assembly gate in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan/Vanguard

Police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu said in a statement that the force was acting on reports that "hoodlums and thugs" had planned an "invasion" of parliament.

He claimed that Tambuwal and his allies defied police orders, assaulted officers and were to blame for the escalation in tensions.

- Emergency rule over -

Senate president Mark described the chaos as "a very unfortunate incident" and closed both chambers of the National Assembly until Tuesday.

House of Representatives spokesman Zakaria Mohammed said later that the chamber held a brief session before the parliament was ordered shut and decided to reject the state of emergency extension.

"Emergency rule is over as far as we are concerned," he said.

A vote was not taken and the decision came in a closed-door session.

Mohammed explained that the president was still free to deploy troops "to trouble spots" in the country.

The president needs approval from both houses of parliament to secure an extension but losing the emergency powers have little practical impact on the fight against Boko Haram as their purpose was never spelt out.

- Divided government -

The PDP, which has controlled the government since democracy was restored in 1999, has found itself in uncharted waters in recent months following a wave of lawmaker defections to the APC.

While the PDP currently holds fragile majorities in both chambers, the situation has been in flux throughout the year.

The defection of Tambuwal was seen as blow to Jonathan, who had previously relied on a compliant lower house.

Senate president David Mark. Photo: TheCable

Human rights lawyer Jiti Ogunye said Thursday's fracas recalled the years after Nigeria's independence from Britain in 1960, when a divided civilian government was ultimately overthrown by the military.

"We are in a state of anarchy," he said. "This is how sad our democracy has turned."