PRESS STATEMENT
AKWA IBOM STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
ASSEMBLY COMPLEX, UDO UDOMA AVENUE, PMB 1141
UYO, AKWA IBOM STATE
September 6,2015
FELLOW NIGERIANS
THE POSITION OF AKWA IBOM STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ON THE BRAZEN INVASION
OF THE HILLTOP MANSION, THE OFFICIAL RESIDENCE OF THE EXECUTIVE
GOVERNOR OF AKWA IBOM STATE, HIS EXCELLENCY, DEACON UDOM EMMANUEL, ON
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2015, BY OPERATIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
SECURITY SERVICE (SSS)
On Thursday, September 3, 2015, the very essence of our democracy and
our freedom were shamelessly assaulted by terrorists masking as
operatives of the department of State Security Service, otherwise known
as SSS.
In broad day light and in a fully democratic country where the rule of
law is sacrosanct; a special squad of the SSS consisting of operatives
from Abuja and a detachment from Uyo, in a commando style, launched a
brazen attack on the official residence of our Executive Governor,
Deacon Udom Emmanuel.
During the raid, the rampaging SSS operatives broke into rooms and guest
houses within the Government House, which is one of the strongest
symbols of our confederacy and in the process damaged valuables
belonging to the Government and people of Akwa Ibom State.
Since the Constitution has clearly freed the Governor from being brought
under court warrant in the discharge of his legitimate duties, it is on
record that before embarking on that ill-advised operation, the SSS
never communicated with the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, who is also the
chief security officer of the state, on why it was necessary to search
his official residence in Uyo.
For the avoidance of doubt, Section 308 (1, 2, and 3) of the 1999 Constitution provides as follows:
(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Constitution, but subject to subsection (2) of this section:
a) No civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued
against a person to whom this section applies during his period of
office;
b) a person to whom this section applies shall not be arrested or
imprisoned during that period either in pursuance of the process of any
court or otherwise;
and c) no process of any court requiring or compelling the appearance of
a person to whom this section applies, shall be applied for or issued:
Provided that in ascertaining whether any period of limitation has
expired for the purposes of any proceedings against a person to whom
this section applies, no account shall be taken of his period of office.
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to
civil proceedings against a person to whom this section applies in his
official capacity or to civil or criminal proceedings in which such a
person is only a nominal party.
(3) This section applies to a person holding the office of President or
Vice-President, Governor or Deputy Governor; and the reference in this
section to “period of office” is a reference to the period during which
the person holding such office is required to perform the functions of
the office.
It is important to point out that immunity from prosecution and
persecution is a well-founded, well-reasoned concept, which has sundry
benefits when applied honestly and carefully for the greater good of
society. It thus means that a sitting state Governor or President of
Nigeria, during the subsistence of term of office, must have a free hand
to act boldly and courageously for public good. In doing so, such a
Governor or President would not be hindered by fear for self, for
repercussion of actions embarked upon, for general public interest of a
state or for clearly defined national interests.
Unfortunately, while the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
the Vice President as well as the Governors and Deputy Governors across
the country are protected under Constitutional Immunity, the Governor of
Akwa Ibom State has been singled out and stripped of this right which
provided for him under the law.
We are firm in the belief that if the raid on the Hilltop Mansion was
not an act of felony, persecution and political vendetta, the DSS would
have declared their mission before unleashing terror on innocent workers
of Akwa Ibom State Government and or openly declare to the authorities
in the state what they found and what they took away from our Government
House.
It is only on the media that we get conflicting reports that stockpiles of arms and United States dollars where uncovered.
As lawmakers and representatives of the people, we wish to place it on
record that no arms or stacks of money were found in Akwa Ibom State
Government House.
We also condemn in the strongest terms, the illegal assault on the
symbol of our pride and the embodiment of the confederacy of Akwa Ibom
State in the Nigerian Federation by the Daura-led State Security
Service.
We, hereby challenge the Director General of the SSS, Alhaji Lawal Musa
Daura, to tell the people of Akwa Ibom State, Nigerians and indeed
lovers of democracy all over the world, why he ordered the ill-fated
operation on the Akwa Ibom State Government House.
The people of Akwa Ibom State will hold Mr. Daura and the SSS
responsible if any unforeseen incident befall the Governor, his Deputy
or key officials of Akwa Ibom State Government.
We, therefore, invite Nigerians from all walks of life to rise up and
overwhelmingly challenge acts of impunity by the political class and
security operatives in the country, including the State Security
Service.
We also invite President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the
National Assembly to launch proper investigation into the ridiculous
action of the SSS. We are shocked that the SSS which is currently
purging officers it claimed to have shown unconcealed partisanship
should descend so low to the extent of staging a coup d’état on our
governor, simply because he belongs to an opposition party.
“Among free men,” a former American President, Abraham Lincoln, had
said, “there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet;
and those who take such appeal are sure to lose their cause and pay the
costs.”
Nigerians must resist the rising level of political intolerance and
violence that ignore our laws, insult our common humanity and our claims
to civilization.
It is very unfortunate that the dominant political players who
profess “change and the rule of law” would willingly and so soon fail to
walk the talk. They who accused others of impunity are now by their own
conduct condoning impunity.
We advise that our politicking should exclude looking for scapegoats and
or conspiracies, because at the end, violence breeds violence,
repression brings retaliation, and only genuine democracy,
reconciliation and the rule of law would unite our country and prosper
our people.
As a people with an abiding love for our fundamental human rights and
liberties as enshrined in the Constitution, we must not just show
revulsion to the rape on Akwa Ibom State Government House.
We must as Nigerian make concrete commitment to work together,
irrespective of our political, ethnic and religious backgrounds, to
defeat the enemies of peace and the rule of law in our midst.
It is, therefore, on this note that we pledge that the House of Assembly
and indeed the people of Akwa Ibom State will take every necessary
action within the law, to protect and preserve our federacy in the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
May the spirit of democracy and good governance ring from north to south and from east to west.
God Bless Akwa Ibom State! God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!
THIS PRESS STATEMENT IS SIGNED BY THE SPEAKER AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE AKWA IBOM STATE HOUSE
