Aminu Tambuwal

Tambuwal: ‘Politicians inviting military’

Share with your friends....

• Reps probe alleged frisking

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday raised alarm that Nigerians politicians are gradually inviting the military into politics, stressing that employing security reasons and security reports as justification for each and every governance infraction is not an acceptable practice in a democracy.

He said that it is worrisome for the military to be used as agency for clamping down on the media; for the grounding of aircraft and closure of airports; and for forcibly restricting the freedoms of citizens.

Tambuwal, made the allegations, yesterday in his remarks on the occasion of the commencement of the 4th and final session of the 7th Assembly, yesterday in Abuja, that for the last 15 years of democratic practice in the country, the Nigerian military has conducted itself most professionally by limiting itself to its constitutional role.

“Recent events whereby the political leadership appears to be gradually pulling the military into partisan political roles are most worrisome. When the military becomes the preferred agency for clamping down on the media; for the grounding of aircraft and closure of airports; and for forcibly restricting the freedoms of citizens, including elected officials, through arrests, detention and false imprisonment, then there is need for us to return to the drawing board of democratic governance.”

He stressed that it is important for those of them holding public office in trust for the people to be reminded that employing security reasons and security reports as justification for each and every governance infraction is not an acceptable practice in a democracy.

“On our part as a legislature we would be betraying the hallowed doctrine of separation of powers and abdicating our constitutional duty of checks and balances if we decide to look the other way when tyranny rears its ugly head in our nation.”

The House of Representatives same day mandated some of its committees to investigate Monday’s alleged frisking of Tambuwal’s official vehicle in Kaduna. Some soldiers allegedly insisted on searching the official vehicle of the Speaker at a public function.

The committees are Defence, Army, Police, Interior, Public Safety and National Intelligence. They are expected to report back to the House within one week.

The resolution followed a motion by Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi (PDP, Enugu), which was unanimously adopted without debate when put to vote by the Speaker.

Ozomgbachi, while moving the motion criticised the action of the security personnel, saying it was a dent on the entire membership and institution of the House which Tambuwal represents.

According to Ozomgbachi, the “embarrassing” development might be fallout of overzealousness of the security personnel.

Following his submissions, Tambuwal announced that the leadership of the House had consulted and agreed that he (the Speaker) should brief members on the development before any further debate on the matter.

The House then went into a close door session and a resolution was taken after the session to investigate the matter.

Tambuwal recalled that on June 18 while on his way to Paris, the ground staff of Air France in Nigeria subjected his physical person and luggage to searching.

He said that he graciously complied with the screening as a law-abiding citizen who was not averse to such security screenings.

Tambuwal, however, said that as the Speaker, House of Representatives, he was expected to enjoy some protocol and privileges.

He, however, cautioned that no one should have the impression that members of the legislature were above the law.

“No one out there should have any impression that any of us here in the House of Representatives or in the National Assembly is above the law; that is not the message we’re sending.

“What we are talking about is the institution of the legislature and not the individuals that are constituted in the Nigerian legislature,” he said.

Reacting insurgency in the North East, Tambuwal, said that the fact remains: “That we as a people and a government still need to do so much more to contain this menace and restore to our people the peace and peace of mind that have been so rudely snatched away from them,” stressing that reports reaching the House from the North East of Nigeria indicate that the wanton destruction of innocent lives and valuable property by the Boko Haram insurgents has not abated.

“And sadly, our Chibok girls are still in captivity. May I once again commend our Armed Forces and Security Agencies for their unwavering effort, determination and sacrifice in tackling this unfortunate relentless assault on Nigeria’s peace and security. “

According to the Speaker, the challenge of terrorism is real in our nation and we must adopt decisive and functional strategies to meet this challenge, adding that this calls for a serious reappraisal of our existing security apparatus and operational strategies.

“We certainly cannot expect to rely on the security strategies of last century to effectively deal with the security challenges of today.”

“It is my view that now is the time to establish a Counter Terrorism Special Forces Unit as well as a National Counter Terrorism Centre for the Armed Forces. This should be accompanied by mass recruitment of personnel as well as the redeployment of existing Officers and Men to this special unit so that they can immediately benefit from the professionalism and expertise being offered by the international community by way of training.

It will also be necessary to formally bring on board the Youth Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) in the proposed Counter Terrorism special training program. When fully operational, this Special Forces

Unit shall be maintained in a state of permanent readiness to respond to terrorist incidents anywhere in Nigeria. These Special Forces will be exposed to continuous training, to maintain their skill and readiness levels.

On his car being subjected to search by soldiers, Tambuwal said that he is not above the law for soldiers to subject him to search, but that he is supposed to enjoy some privileges as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution as amended, adding that he had subjected himself to security scrutiny severally, that recently when he was travelling to Paris, he subjected himself to the Paris security, whereby his bags and luggage were searched