Senate adjourns for eight weeks over siege on Saraki, Ekweremadu’s homes

The senate has adjourned plenary over the siege laid on homes of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president.

The lawmakers were due to embark on their annual recess this week.

The lawmakers who contributed to a debate on the siege on the homes of both Saraki and Ekweremadu said they could not continue sitting as a result of the development.

Moving a motion on the floor the senate, Chukuwuka Utazi, senator representing Enugu north, said: “This morning, I left Enugu for Abuja. Halfway into the airport, I got a distress call from one of his aides that their entire street has been blocked and no one could go in or out of the compound.

“As we speak, people of Enugu state in Abuja have moved to his house and are there shouting under the rain wondering what is happening to our brother and what offence he could have committed. His family members could not go to work today. We want to know what he has done. We had insinuations that today’s seating is going to be turbulent and will not even hold.

“This is uncalled for. It will not help our democracy. Our people are afraid and are asking that he be given his freedom back.”

Sam Anyawu, senator representing Imo east, said the reason why the homes of the presiding officers were cordoned off should be explained.

“I’m sure by the time some of us will leave here, there will be a siege at our place because it is part of the things we suffer for democracy,” Anyawu said.

“It is unfair that it is within this period that we have a new administration we believe that will protect Nigerians, that Nigerians are now afraid of going to their homes. We demand to know why the police should lay siege at his residence.

“The security agencies should vacate his house and give him official invitation which he will honour. It is Saraki and Ekweremadu today, it could be somebody else tomorrow.”

On his part, Senate President Bukola Saraki said he came to the national assembly so that plenary would hold.

“The road leading to my place was cornered off and all cars coming in and out as early as 6:30 were being stopped and you have to come down,” Saraki said.

“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 8pm, I received a letter asking me to report to the police on a case of this offa robbery which had been concluded before now.

“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. It was just by the intervention of the Almighty God that I was able to get myself here.”

The senate is expected to resume plenary on September 25.