From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Suspected hoodlums have burgled the Ogun State House of Assembly Complex in Abeokuta and carted away the mace of the Assembly.
Daily Sun reliably gathered that men of the underworld broke into the Speaker, Olakunle Oluomo’s office overnight and stole the official symbol of the state legislature.
A reliable source said the incident was the second time the hoodlums would burgled the Assembly Complex in the last three weeks.
Oluomo, who confirmed that the mace was stolen, noted that the motive for the action was still unknown. He said that the part of the mace, which had the coat of arm, had been recovered.
“I do not know the motive of the stealing, but it is true and the police are already on top of it. I have to say that even the CP and other top officials have been to the assembly to see what really happened.
“I’m not suspecting anybody. I see it as a theft, but the police investigation will tell us what really happened. It will not affect our sitting; when we are ready to sit, our mace will come up,” he said.
However, spokesman of the Assembly, Yusuf Adejojo, denied the mace was stolen, claiming it was in a safe place in the Assembly.
“To the best of my knowledge, the last sitting we had was last Thursday, which I’m sure everybody was aware and witnessed the presence of the mace. As at this minute, I cannot confirm such information to you. I’m sure it should be in a safe area where it was kept after our last sitting,” Adejojo said.
Confirming the incident to newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun Police Public Relations Officers (PPRO), Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the burglars broke into the speaker’s office through the roof and stole the mace.
“There is an unfortunate incident today, in the assembly complex. Hoodlums broke into the assembly through the ceiling and removed the official mace of the house.
“That is why the Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, had to go there for on the spot assessment. Now, the head of the mace has been recovered and investigation has commenced. We are getting some clues on the perpetrators of the incident and, very soon, we will arrest everyone that partook part in that dastardly act,” he said.
Oyeyemi, however, said the part of the mace that has the Coat of Arm symbol had been recovered.
When Daily Sun visited the Assembly to ascertain the burglary, yesterday afternoon, security agents denied access into the complex.
An officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) told our correspondent, “We don’t want to see journalists here. We are not entertaining visitors, today.”