The Federal Government has ordered an investigation into the invasion of the National Assembly and theft of the mace from the Senate.
Several individuals suspected to be thugs had entered the Senate chamber during plenary around 11:30 am, snatched and went away with the mace.
READ MORE: Unidentified Persons Invade Senate, Snatch Mace
Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, said in a statement that the Federal Government was shocked by the incident and has ordered a probe.
The security agencies are “to immediately unravel the circumstances surrounding the breach of security that led to the invasion”, the statement signed by a Special Adviser to the minister, Mr Segun Adeyemi, read in part.
In addition to that, the statement said security would also be reinforced to prevent a recurrence.
The Federal Government’s directive is not the first to be received by the security agencies about the incident.
Shortly after the mace was stolen, the Senate accused Senator Ovie Omo-Agege of sending thugs to steal the mace.
It described the action as an act of treason and an attempt to overthrow a branch of the Federal Government of Nigeria by force, which must be treated with importance.
The National Assembly also gave the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and Director-General of the Department of State Security, Lawal Daura, 24 hours to recover the Mace.
The theft of the mace has been widely condemned and many Nigerians took to the social media to react to it with many of them mocking the development.
Senate President Bukola Saraki who is in the United States issued a statement praising lawmakers for rising to the defence of the country’s democracy, while the House of Representatives called the incident a mockery of democracy.
