The Senate has asked the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to order the immediate parade of the six suspects who invaded its chamber and stole the mace in April.
Recall that suspected thugs had, on April 18, 2018, invaded the Senate chamber while plenary was ongoing and made away with the symbol of authority of the legislature.
Photographs of the suspects arrested by the police on the National Assembly premises had gone viral on the Internet but they had yet to be paraded and charged with the prosecution.
Speaking with newsmen on Friday, the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, alleged that the suspects probably had the backing of some top government officials.
He said, “I think it is common sense that when the police arrest crime suspects, they parade them. Kidnappers are paraded. But some people broke into the National Assembly and they were not paraded.
“The police should tell Nigerians why the suspects have not been paraded; they (police) should come and explain. It is very disgusting and annoying that this thing happened some weeks ago, and they have not paraded the suspects, but petty thieves are being paraded every day.
“Those who invaded the National Assembly rode in an SUV valued at about N50m. I leave the rest to your imagination.”
The day after the attack, the Senate had resolved to summon Idris and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, to brief the lawmakers on the circumstances surrounding the invasion and the mace theft.
The upper chamber had insisted that the security lapses at the National Assembly Complex, which made the suspects to successfully commit the crime, must also be investigated.
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, after a prolonged closed-door session on April 24, announced that the Senate and the House of Representatives had resolved to form a joint committee that would probe the circumstances surrounding the attack.
The panel, which was mandated to grill the IG and DSS boss, would also discuss how to protect the building and its environs with the security chiefs.
On April 26, when the police boss failed to appear before the Senate over the arrest and detention of Senator Dino Melaye and the spate of killings across the country, the Senate President had alleged that Buhari appointees were creating problems for him.
