The Spokesperson of House of Representatives, Hon.
Ben Kalu, has raised the alarm of insecurity within the National Assembly
complex, saying the offices of the members
are no longer safe to carry out their legislative duties.
Kalu, who is the House Committee Chairman on Media
and Public Affairs, said he was shocked
to find his personal office burgled by unknown burglars on Tuesday morning.
Speaking to journalists on the incident, the
lawmaker said he had asked his aides to report the matter to Sergeant-At-Arms
and the security machinery of the National Assembly while he interfaced with
the House Committee on Security and the Police.
He said the police would do their investigation and
find out what actually happened.
According to him, "It’s actually surprising to
see that somebody broke into my office. We are still trying to assess what was
the intention of breaking into my office. Was it to take an important document out
or to check if we leave money or any valuables in the office or to plant any
security or spying device there? Honestly, I don’t know, but I have asked my
aides to register it with the Sergeant-At-Arms. It’s scary to come into your
office and find this. This is one of the consequences of COVID-19 as we are not
sitting every day. The time we were sitting every day, we never experienced
this. So, hoodlums are beginning to see this also as an opportunity to break
into people offices.
“We can’t pin it down to whether it was just
breaking to steal or to spy on what the National Assembly is doing through my
office. But whatever it is, I am sure the security agencies will get to the
root of it.
"Of course, there have a been a lot of motions
to that effect, and the discussion has been ongoing for quite some time that
the place is no longer as safe as it is supposed to be. For my office to be
broken into it means we don’t know how many other offices have been broken into,
but as spokesperson of the House, I need to speak out so that people will know
what’s going on. The committee in charge of security needs to step up its game.
I am going to immediately get in touch with those who are in charge of that
committee to see what they are doing about the situation of this nature. It’s
actually shocking. It means that we are not safe to do our job.”
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