By Ola Ajayi
EFFORTS by some lawmakers in the Oyo State House of Assembly to remove the Speaker, Mr. Moruf Atilola were resisted by some people believed to be hired thugs who invaded the hallowed chamber Tuesday.

The resistance led to the attack of nine pro-impeachment lawmakers with one of them sustaining serious injuries. His legs were broken when he jumped from a three-storey building that houses the legislative arm. He is lying critically ill at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

They even threatened to remove the governor who had allegedly hijacked the leadership of the House and always foisted his own decision on them.

It was the prompt response of the State Security Services, SSS, and the Police that prevented a bloody clash as nine of the pro-impeachment lawmakers were hurriedly taken away. But before they were taken away, they were beaten seriously by some people believed to be members of the State National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, who were reportedly led by their leader and one member of the union arrested by the army during the governorship election in 2007.

To prevent them from being attacked, the police had to whisk the pro-impeachment lawmakers away to the police headquarters.

When Vanguard visited the police command, 38 suspects including three women were arrested in connection with the crisis.

Among those seen were some aides of Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala. The Special Assistant to the governor on Youth was seen among the suspects.

For fear of being attacked, one of the pro-impeachment lawmakers told Vanguard that the Action Congress members in the legislative arm were taken to a safe place by the former Governor of the State, Alhaji Lamidi Adesina.

The lawmakers said they would not go to their houses unless the CP provided security for them.

They alleged attempted murder, adding that if it were not for the police, they would have been killed.

While giving details of the genesis of the crisis, he said the governor connived with the leadership of the House to thwart their efforts.

According to them, they had wanted to investigate the allegations of misappropriation of N8.2billion and alleged inept leadership when the hoodlums swooped on them.

Mr. Tijani Ademola representing Iwajowa State Constituency said, they wanted to kill us. We wanted to change the leadership of the House because it had compromised. It is a mere rubber stamp of the governor. It has compromised completely and we believe things should not continue in this form. Two of us are in the hospital now with injuries. We want to expose their misdeeds.”

One of them confided in Vanguard saying that the governor’s overbearing influence on the leadership was too much to bear. According to him, the governor always stopped them whenever they wanted to investigate any financial impropriety of the local government.

In his own account, Mr. Micheal Okunlade who was among the lawmakers the other faction claimed to have suspended said he remained the Majority leader, adding that those that carried out the purported suspension did not form a quorum, hence their effort was null and void.

“Each time we are investigating the local governments, we would have got to a certain level when the governor would order us to stop that if we continue, we would allow the anti-graft agencies to focus on the state.”

The lawmakers under the cover of the police were Okunlade Micheal, Nafiu Baale, Tijani Ademola, Inakoju M.M, Adejumobi Samuel, Abiola Ayorinde, Ayilara Kazeem, and Animashaun K.M.

The speaker and his loyalists claimed they had suspended the Deputy Majority Leader, Hon. Ademola Adejumo and Deputy Chief Whip, Hon. Nafiu Baale, Okunlade Michael, Ajibola Bamidele, Ayorinde Abiola, Kayode Animashaun and Kazeem Ayilara and that they should not come near the House for the next three months .

The suspended lawmakers alleged that the crisis was triggered by the governor but the allegation was refuted by the governor through his Special Adviser on Public Communication, Prince Dotun Oyelade saying, “the opposition is attempting to rope in the Executive into a matter that is out of its purview. We state that Governor Alao-Akala neither has a hand or knowledge of the events that took place at the State House of Assembly today. It is strictly an internal affairs of the Legislature which can only concern the Executive if the peace of the State is threatened.

“As far as we are concerned, the legislature should be free to interpret and implement its own laws and conduct itself with decorum.

“While our detractors find it convenient to associate Akala’s administration with all their failed efforts to destabilise the State, we firmly assert government determination to quell all efforts to undermine security in the State or turn the hallowed chambers of our democracy into a haven of intrigue.”

The CP confirmed the incident and said the command had to act swiftly to prevent the escalation of the crisis.