Abuja - Three men burst into Nigeria's
Senate on Wednesday and snatched the legislature's ceremonial
mace, in an incident the body's spokesman blamed on a lawmaker
who had been suspended.
The men entered the chamber, picked up the mace and left
with it in a swoop that lasted less than two minutes. A Reuters
journalist at the scene was not able to identify them.
Decisions taken in the Senate cannot be approved without the
mace, an ornamental staff which symbolises the authority of
Nigeria's legislature. A giant statue of a fist holding a golden
mace stands outside the parliament building, making it one of
Nigeria's most potent government symbols.
"Today, some hoodlums led by suspended senator Ovie
Omo-Agege walked into the Senate plenary and seized the symbol
of authority of the upper legislative chamber, the mace," said
Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, spokesman for the upper house, in a
statement.
Omo-Agege is a senator who was suspended last week after a
disagreement with other lawmakers. Reuters was not immediately
able to contact Omo-Agege for comment.
"This action is an act of treason, as it is an attempt to
overthrow a branch of the Federal Government of Nigeria by
force, and it must be treated as such," Abdullahi said.
"All security agencies must stand on the side of due process
and immediately mobilize their personnel to retrieve the mace
and apprehend the mastermind and the perpetrators of this act."