By Pascal Oparada
Events have come to light how Nigeria’s senate president, Bukola Saraki, sold a dummy to the Nigeria Police to escape their siege and preside over today’s plenary at the Senate
A source close the senate president said, “sensing that Saraki was going to be stopped by the police from attending Senate today, he asked his convoy to go ahead while he drove himself in a rickety car to the National Assembly to preside over today’s affairs”, the source said.
As early as 6.30 am on Tuesday, Nigeria Police had laid siege to the senate president’s residence and that of his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, who was not so deft to thwart police moves.
After the incident, Saraki’s whereabouts became unknown, thereby throwing the police into some panic.
The source said the senate president had left his residence as early as 5am.
At the plenary, Saraki announced the defection of 15 senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking on the siege, Saraki said, ”I dont believe that this should come to this level where people would be under siege for something that is personal to them.”
“As we are speaking, our DSP cannot leave the house. We must save this democracy. People have free association. They can even move tomorrow. I am sitting here and 16 members have decamped or defected from one party to another and there has been no seige.
“This is not something that started today. It will not end today. People have gone and come back, but these types of actions do not allow for such.
“This morning I could not also leave my street as well because some people believed today’s seating must not hold because some members want to move or defect,” Saraki said.
On Monday, Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris summoned Saraki over the infamous robbery incident that took place in Offa, Kwara State.
Idris said there was a need for the senate president to appear at the office of intelligence response team to make a further statement on the incident.
Saraki said the invitation was politically motivated.
He tweeted on Monday that the invitation was intended to keep him and associates in a party where members are ‘criminalised’.
“This plot aimed at compelling me and my associates to stay in a party where members are criminalised without just cause, where injustice is perpetrated at the highest level and where there is no respect for constitutionalism is an exercise in futility and it will fail, he said.
Saraki, on Tuesday formally relayed his experience in the hands of security operatives, who laid siege to his house, to his colleagues.
Security agencies early Tuesday morning laid siege on the homes of Mr Saraki and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu in Abuja.
The move is said to be a ploy to prevent them from making it to the National Assembly today because of a plan by many lawmakers to decamp from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Saraki, however, made his way to the Senate chamber at about 10:40 a.m. and presided over the plenary. Mr Ekweremadu did not make it to plenary and the siege on his home was still on at midday.
Reacting to a motion on the siege on his home and that of his deputy, Mr Saraki said the plenary would not have held if not for his preparation.
“The road leading to my place was cordoned off and all cars coming in and out as early as 6:30 were being stopped and you have to come down.
“My convoy was stopped from moving. Given something that one was prepared for, I had my own car too. So the deputy senate president called me and said he could not come here.
“And as you are all aware, very late yesterday, at about 8 p.m., I received a letter asking me to report to the police on a case of this Offa robbery which had been concluded before now.
“That’s the situation why the DSP could not come here and I was already going somewhere else. If not, this plenary would not have been able to hold today. So I had to come here.”
Mr Saraki condemned the siege saying it was God that made him escape it.
“But as you all rightly said, if one of our colleagues cannot come out for no fault of his, I don’t see how we can continue to sit and ignore the fact that a presiding officer cannot be here.
“And if it was by the plan, I too, would not be here.
“It was just by the intervention of the almighty God that I was able to get myself here.”
