I no longer feel safe in my National Assembly office

The senator representing Lagos Central, Oluremi Tinubu, has officially reported a case of burglary in her National Assembly office to her colleagues.

The burglary was first reported in a statement by her legislative aide, Nifemi Aje, who said the incident was discovered on Wednesday, January 9, as staff resumed work.

Mrs Tinubu, in a motion on Thursday, said she no longer feels safe in her office after the experience.

She urged the Senate to investigate the burglary and demanded the replacement of her lost items.

“I want to report an incident that happened in my office why we were on holiday during the Christmas break. The Senate is aware that we were closed for the break on Thursday the 21st day of December 2018. However, my office had been closed from 7th December as I had constituency engagements and town hall meetings scheduled for the period.

“On Wednesday 9th January 2019, my staff upon resumption noticed some anomalies in the organisation and setup of the office, prompting an inspection.”

Among items she said the burglars carted away are HP laptop computer, CCTV camera box, one Smile internet device and copies of the laws of the federation. She added that the incident was reported at the police post of the National Assembly.

Mrs Tinubu demanded a probe and replacement of all the items, including volumes one to fourteen of the laws of the federation.

She also expressed fear of insecurity in the office given that election is close.

“This time, the occurrence is something that is worrisome. One this is the time we are all going for election, right now I don’t feel safe in my office, because when things happen and nothing tangible is being taken away, you begin they wonder,” she said.

The Senate referred the issue to the National Assembly management to report through the Committee on Senate Services.

Commenting, the presiding officer, Ike Ekweremadu, recounted a similar incident.

“I don’t think it is an isolated case. A former colleague came to do a transaction in the National Assembly,” he said. “He left his car and when he came back, the car was broken into and money removed. He parked the car close to one of the buildings and he thought it was easy to detect.

“He reported to the management and they tried to look at the CCTV but it was not working. It is an embarrassment for all of us. I want to appeal to the management to live up to their expectations. We cannot be talking about replacing the books until they have concluded the investigation.”