Advertisement

NASS invasion: Rights group places N3.5m bounty on principal actors behind siege


A civil rights organisation, Egalitarian Mission for Africa, EMA, has announced $10,000 (N3.5m) as reward for information on principal actors behind the invasion of the National Assembly by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS.

The group said that anyone with credible information on the identity of the masterminds of the Tuesday’s siege to the National Assembly and is willing to disclose same will be paid the sum of money.

Saga Gist reported that armed and masked men of the DSS had as early as 6am on Tuesday, laid siege to the National Assembly, blocking the entry and exit points.

The incident, however, led to the dismissal of the Director-General of the security agency, Lawal Daura.

The EMA further called on the Federal Government to ensure that all those found culpable in the siege were “investigated and tried for treason.”

The Chairman, Board of Trustees of EMA, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, disclosed this in a statement he signed and made available to newsmen on Friday in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

He said the membership of the probe should be drawn from civil society organisations, Nigerian Bar Association, the media and government representatives “to unearth those that facilitated the blockade, those who held meetings with the erstwhile boss of the DSS (Lawal Daura) and to what end.”

Ajulo said, “First, while it is worth the while to commend Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for the prompt response in arresting the apparent drift to anarchy, it is germane to stress that it is not enough to celebrate the sacking of Lawal Daura as the Director General of the DSS.

“Rather, the unfortunate incident not only calls for sober reflection but vigilance as well as the interrogation of the fundamentals of what led to the national embarrassment and desecration of the symbol of our democracy.

“Confident that there are answers to the many questions which are yet to be answered by the ‘express’ sack of Daura by the Federal Government, I am offering N3.5m for credible information in this regard.”