Nigeria Content Online

Pandemonium broke
out in the chambers of the Oyo State House of Assembly on Tuesday, as
the members split into two over an impeachment move against the
Speaker, Olawale Atilola, engineered by a faction of the assembly.

Two members of the
House, Abiola Ayorinde of Ibadan Southwest 1 and Bamidele Ajibola of
Ibadan Northwest sustained injuries during the ensuing fracas.

Initiators of the
move to impeach the Speaker raised several allegations bordering on
inept leadership, lack of charisma, absence of robust debate and
irregular sittings of the House, to back their position.

Yesterday’s
sitting took a violent dimension as bus-loads of supporters and thugs,
wielding dangerous weapons, stormed the premises of the state House of
Assembly to express their support for the Speaker and the state
governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala.

The crowd,
mobilised from all the 33 local governments of the state, chanted
different songs to show that they are indeed for the government of the
day.

Riot policemen took their positions around the state secretariat and prevented many people from entering the premises.

The thugs
prevented all the lawmakers known to be behind the impeachment move
from entering the chambers to attend yesterday’s session. The said
lawmakers were also beaten as they approached the premises of the
chambers. Not satisfied with this, the thugs then went into the
Assembly complex to ransack the offices of the legislators and search
for who among the pro-impeachment lawmakers might have escaped their
beatings.

Injured lawmakers

That eventuality
was what Mr. Ayorinde wanted to avoid when he jumped from the balcony
of the first floor of the building and injured his leg in the process.
Mr. Ajibola was not allowed to escape. The thugs pounced on him, tore
his clothes, and beat him thoroughly.While the beating was going on,
the Speaker and 15 other members of the House were conducting a
legislative session on the floor of the House.

There, they
suspended the Majority Leader, Ademola Adejumo; deputy chief whip;
Nafiu Baale and five others perceived to be the masterminds of the
impeachment move.

The incident took
place in the full glare of the security officials of the state
secretariat and some senior members of the state executive council,
including Mr Olayiwola Olakojo, secretary to the state government.

The state chairman
of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Lateef Salako
(a.k.a. Eleweomo) and his second in command, Mukaila Lamidi (popularly
called Auxiliary) led the army of thugs that unleashed terror on the
pro-impeachment lawmakers.

Wearing vests with
the governor’s pictures, the thugs publicly assaulted some members of
the state legislature.However, Dotun Oyelade, media aide to Mr.
Alao-Akala, said on Tuesday that the state government had nothing to do
with the incident.