Suleiman Abba, the inspector general of police (IGP), on Tuesday failed to appear before the senate as invited to explain the reasons for last week’s police siege on the National Assembly.
A fracas ensued at the complex of the National Assembly last Thursday when some police officers attempted to prevent Aminu Tambuwal, speaker of the federal house representatives, from gaining entrance into parliament building, firing tear gas sporadically into the air and at the speaker.
After the commotion, David Mark, senate president and chairman of the National Assembly, shut down the parliament and summoned Abba.
Rather than honour the invitation of the senate, Abba delegated a representative, a deputy inspector-general of police, but he was sent out of the session by senators who demanded the presence of the IGP himself.
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The senate afterwards entered into an executive session with the service chiefs who were summoned last week to explain the performance of the state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states.
The senate is yet to take a decision on the extension of emergency rule in the three northeastern states, a request made by President Goodluck Jonathan on November 18.
The house of representatives declined the extension of the state of emergency in the northeast, saying it could not assess the president’s request as it was under siege, and advising the president to rely on the section of the armed forces act empowering him to deploy the military to any trouble spot in the country.
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