It was a mild drama on Wednesday between the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, and House Committee on Police Affairs as the police boss refused to recognize Hon. Aminu Tambuwal as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Abba, who appeared before the committee to explain why the Police invaded National Assembly, failed to address Speaker properly as the Constitution demands.
Abba simply addressed the speaker as Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal.
Abba said it is very wrong to recognize Tambuwal as the speaker since the case is still before the court.
The development infuriated members of the Committee.
The Chairman of the committee, Usman Bello-Kurmo, asked Abba a direct question: “Is Aminu Waziri Tambuwal the speaker of the House of Representatives or not?”
The IG replied: “Mr. Chairman, you know that matters before the courts are subjudice.
“Commenting on them is subjudice until they are disposed of.”
The refusal of the IGP to retract his statement forced the session to end abruptly.
The committee, acting on a House resolution, had summoned Abba to explain why the police shut the gates of the National Assembly against lawmakers on Thursday last week.
During the closure, Tambuwal and many lawmakers were disallowed entry by the police, resulting in violent reactions by the members.
In the process, many of them scaled the gates to enter the premises and later forcibly took the speaker into the House.
Riot policemen reacted by throwing teargas at the speaker and the enraged members.
As the meeting was about to start, Bello-Kurmo called for maturity, saying that the interest of the country must prevail at all times.