SAN FRANCISCO, November 21, (THEWILL) – The police in Akwa Ibom State have sealed off the premises of the state’s House of Assembly as police trucks were seen barricading the road leading to the building while others were stationed in front of the entrance to the assembly complex.
Several anti-riot police officers were seen on the already deserted road.
THEWILL recalls that irate youths, on Monday, stormed the assembly complex protesting the sacking of a lawmaker, Idongesit Ituen, who represents the Itu State Constituency but was sacked by a federal high court for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The House had its sitting as scheduled on Monday, despite the protest and the speaker, Onofiok Luke, went on to declare vacant the seats of four more lawmakers who had also defected from PDP to APC.
The sacked lawmakers, five of them, in turn, held their own sitting where they ‘removed’ the speaker, Luke, and elected one of them, Nse Ntuen (Essien Udim State Constituency) as the new speaker.
Kufre Okon, spokesperson to the Hon Luke, said the police officers barricading all the entrances to assembly complex prevented the assembly staffers from going into the complex.
He said aides to some of the lawmakers were also harassed by the officers.
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