Abaribe denies ‘shutting down’ National Assembly
Former Senate Minority Leader Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe on Friday denied allegedly shutting down the National Assembly to demand for immediate release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, from detention.
Abaribe, who represents Abia South in the Senate, had allegedly staged a protest in the National Assembly carrying a placard demanding the release of Kanu.
However, according to a statement by his media aide, Uchenna Awom, the report is baseless, urging members of the public to disregard it.
He said the report was aimed at frustrating political solutions being negotiated to get Nnamdi Kanu released.
The statement titled: “Discard as false report of Senator Abaribe disrupting Senate plenary for Kanu” reads: The office of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has been drawn to a false and very misleading report purporting disruption of Senate Plenary by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe demanding the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu.
“The report is false and was at best a concoction that defiles logic.
“It was a deliberate misinformation that tends to narrate a sinister motive aimed at sabotaging the ongoing effort at exploring political solution to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
““For the avoidance of doubt, Distinguished Senator Abaribe was last seen on the Senate floor last Wednesday and travelled out of Abuja on Thursday for an oversight function in Ikwuano Umuahia, Abia State, organised by the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
“In any case, the Senate does not sit on Fridays – it conducts its plenary sessions from Tuesdays to Thursdays, making the claim of a shutdown on a Friday baseless.
Matters that are sub judice (under judicial consideration) are not debated in the Senate – the case of Nnamdi Kanu is currently before the courts, and as a rule, the National Assembly does not interfere in judicial proceedings.
“Therefore, Senator Abaribe couldn’t have embarked on such effort knowing its futility.
The public is therefore urged to disregard this fabricated report and refrain from sharing unverified information.”
Earlier, a report titled: “Senator Abaribe shuts down National Assembly, demands immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu” surfaced online.
According to the report: “Chaos erupted at the Nigerian National Assembly today as Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe took a dramatic stand, demanding the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu.
“The senator, who previously stood as a surety for Kanu’s bail, vowed that legislative proceedings would not continue until his demand was met.
“Abaribe arrived at the National Assembly wielding a placard and blocking key access roads, declaring that ‘enough is enough’.
“He insisted that the prolonged detention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader was unjust and against the rule of law.
As a surety, I have always stood with Nnamdi Kanu, and I will continue to do so until justice prevails,” Abaribe was quoted to have stated.
“From this moment, nothing will function in Nigeria until Kanu is released, as required by law. The Igbo people are not fools—we have been patient long enough. If President Tinubu insists on lawlessness, then let it be total lawlessness,” he allegedly stated.
But Abaribe denied leading any such protest.
