Breaking: Police recover Senate’s stolen Mace

The Nigerian Police has recovered the Senate’s stolen Mace at a flyover before the Abuja City Gate, where according to ASP Aremu Adeniran, Deputy Force Public Relations Officer Force Headquarters a patriotic passer-by saw it and alerted the Police.

This came as the IGP has ordered the Commissioner of Police FCT Command to beef-up security at the National Assembly.

According to a statement by the Police on Thursday morning the Mace was recovered by the ‘Police teams who 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 passer-by saw it and alerted the Police.’ Also the The Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, on Wednesday briefed Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the forceful removal of the Senate mace by some hoodlums on Wednesday morning. 

He was in company of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly (Senate), Sen. Ita Enang. Ekweremadu told State House Correspondent that the briefing was aimed at preventing future occurrence of such act in the legislature to forestall breakdown of law and order. According to the Deputy Senate President when such incidents occur it is imperative that the leadership of the National Assembly briefs the Presidency immediately.

 He added that since Senate President Bukola Saraki was out of the country, he had to brief Osinbajo as President Muhammadu Buhari was attending the Commonwealth of States meeting in the United Kingdom. “I came to brief the Vice President to ensure that there is law and order in the country. “When there is this type of development it is important that he is briefed at the earliest opportunity. “The Senate President is out of the country, so it is my responsibility to come and brief the vice president. “And he has sympathized with us over what happened and he is going to join forces with us to ensure that we get to the root of the matter and make sure this does not happen again,’’ he said.

 According to him, the invasion of the Senate “is a threat to our democracy’’. “The invasion of the parliament is not acceptable to any person, it is not acceptable to me, it is not acceptable to my colleagues, it is not acceptable to the Vice President and I believe it is not acceptable to the President,’’ he said. Ekweremadu noted that those involved in the act were on their own. “I appeal to the media to help us bring an end to this brigandage so that people have to behave in a very responsible manner. “But let me assure you that we are on top of the situation, we continued our sitting today and we are going to continue tomorrow,’’ Ekweremadu stated. He said that the police were still investigating the matter and that the Senate would find out those who aided the coming of the invaders. “I believe some of them have been arrested and we will get to the root of the matter,’’ he declared.

The police statement read thus Sequel to the invasion of the Senate Chambers of the National Assembly, Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 18th April, 2018 by some suspected thugs who disrupted the Senate Plenary Session and carted away the Mace of the Red Chambers, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris NPM, mni, immediately instituted a high-powered Police Investigation and Intelligence Team coordinated by the IGP Monitoring Unit of the Force and further directed a total lock-down of the Federal Capital Territory with intense surveillance patrol and thorough Stop and Search Operations at various Police check-points with a view to arresting perpetrators and possible recovery of the stolen Mace. 

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 passer-by saw it and alerted the Police. 

While a discreet investigation into the incident is still ongoing to arrest and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Nigeria Police Force appreciates the spirited 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. The renewed commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to guarantee protection of Lives and Property, Peace and Stability and sustain democracy in the country remains unequivocal and unwavering.