All security details attached to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mrs Mojisola Meranda, have been withdrawn, Mr Victor Ganzalo, her Special Adviser on Media, said on Thursday.
In a short statement issued to House of Assembly correspondents in Ikeja, Ganzalo also said all personnel providing security at the Assembly complex had also been withdrawn.
All police escorts guarding the Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Mojisola Meranda and those guarding the Lagos House of Assembly have been withdrawn, he said.
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Ganzalo said the withdrawal of the personnel had left the Assembly naked and vulnerable. The media aide described the development as unfortunate, saying it was an attack on democracy.
Speaking on the development, Mr Femi Adeoti, a rights activist, said the alleged withdrawal of Meranda’s security details was condemnable.
Adeoti, Coordinator of Liberty For All(LFA), a civil society organisation, added that the withdrawal was not good for democracy.
What has just happened at the House of Assembly in Lagos is bad news for democracy. It is a serious attack on democracy.
The removal of the Speaker’s security details should be condemned by all believers in democracy and fairness. Meranda has not been removed as Speaker so she needs protection.
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The police owe us an explanation on what has just happened. We hope that the action will be reversed immediately, he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Adeoti, who said the leadership crisis at the House of Assembly had dragged on for too long called on leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to work towards restoring peace to the House.
We cannot continue to have this crisis. APC leaders in the state must act now. Tomorrow might be too late, he added.
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