Benue Assembly staff demand withdrawal of security men

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Heavily armed security operatives comprising of Nigeria Police and men of the Department of Security Services, DSS yesterday chased away Clerk of the Benue State House of Assembly, Dr. Torese Agena and other staff of the Assembly out of their office.
The Clerk of the Assembly, Dr. Torese Agena, who disclosed this while speaking to newsmen in Makurdi, said that he and other staff were ordered out of their offices by the security men after two hours of resumption.
According to him, the security men told them that the new commissioner of police Benue State Command Bensan Gwana has given an order that all staff should vacate the Assembly.
“As l talk to you now, the police officers are still there and you can’t see any staff at the Assembly Complex because they were chased out of my office. They told us that the commissioner of police has ordered them to leave the complex. No reason was given and no definite time was given to us to come back”.
“The implication of this, is that we are not allowed to do our job and that is going to impede on the work of the legislature and is going to affect the general Benue Persons”.
“We are calling on the commander in chief to direct the IGP to tell the commissioner of police Benue State Command to withdraw his men from the premises of the Benue State House of Assembly so that staff can do their work unhindered”, Agena pleaded.
He described the situation as harassment that is too many, adding that for two weeks now, staff of the Assembly are not allowed to do their job.
Corroborating the Clerk, the security adviser to the governor, Col. Paul Hemba, said that the Policemen are still there taken possession of the Assembly.
“I got the information about the chasing away of civil servants and l called the commissioner of police. I spoke with him ago and he confirmed, yes, indeed that there was order from above and then, I told him about the concerns of the civil servants and the Clerk of the house.
“But he told that the order is from above and that he would take steps to get clarification from Abuja,that he is on his way to Abuja for IG’s conference. That he would get information from the IGP, Col. Hemba rtd said.