Osinbajo condemns DSS siege on NASS; says it’s an unlawful act …Sacks DG DSS, Lawal Daura

Sacks DG DSS, Lawal Daura

By Ovasa Ogaga,

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Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN has described the blockade of the National Assembly gates by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) as a gross violation of constitutional order, rule of law and all accepted notions of law and order, slamming the agency for acting without been unauthorized by the presidency.  

According to him, the unlawful act which was done without the knowledge of the Presidency is condemnable and completely unacceptable.

A statement issued by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Acting President, said that the action of the DSS was  not authorised by the presidency.

According to News Agency of Nigeria report, quoting Akand; “By this statement, Professor Osinbajo is consequently assuring Nigerians that all persons within the law enforcement apparatus who participated in this travesty will be identified and subjected to appropriate disciplinary action.

Meanwhile, following the authorised blockade by of the NASS, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo sacked the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura and was directed to hand over to the most senior officer of the State Security Service until further notice.

Daura sack was announced after he had a close-door meeting with  the Acting President at the presidential villa in Abuja. The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris was also in the closed-door meeting.

The termination of Daura’s appointment comes few hours after security officials invaded the premises of the National Assembly barricading the entrance.

The masked security operatives and officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) arrived at the National Assembly very early on Tuesday morning and prevented lawmakers, members of staff of the National Assembly and journalists from entering the complex.

According to a tweets by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President,
Osinbajo has ” directed the termination of the appointment of the DG of the DSS, Mr. Lawal Musa Daura”.

“Mr. Daura has been directed to hand over to the most senior officer of the State Security Service until further notice”, Akande said.

Daura  born August 5, 1953, in Daura Katsina state, was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari on 2 July 2015, following the dismissal of his predecessor Ita Ekpeyong.

He once worked in the service and retired

Recall that the operatives of the DSS, wearing masks blocked the gates of the National Assembly this morning, preventing senators and workers from gaining entrance.

Some PDP senators, who were caught in the blockade, interpreted it as a move to impeach Senate President Bukola Saraki. But it turned out there was nothing like that in the offing as no APC senator was in the National Assembly when they were creating the row outside the gate.

The blockade has been roundly condemned as anti-democratic and has made the leadership of the National Assembly to call off a scheduled meeting this afternoon, which would probably have paved way for the reconvening of the Assembly.

Members of the two-chamber legislature went on break on 24 July. They were scheduled to resume on 25 September. The executive arm of government has issued a red alert that the recess may lead to a government shutdown.