A prominent non-governmental organisation, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has described as unconstitutional and treasonous, the invasion of the National Assembly by masked armed operatives of Department of State Service (DSS).

The rights group warned the executive branch of government which controls armed security forces “to stop forthwith the desecration of the legislative arm of government with the subterranean motive to unseat the leadership of the National Assembly.”

HURIWA, in a statement by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, faulted the invasion of the National Assembly by the armed security forces “when their presence was not occasioned by any official invitation by either the principal officers of the National Assembly namely the Senate President, the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, the Deputy Senate President; the Deputy Speaker or the Clerk of the National Assembly.”

The rights group warned “the rebellious All Progressives Congress Senators plotting to illegally unseat the constituted authority to know that their illegality will not have the constitutional force of legitimacy and therefore any outcomes of their deliberations for a regime change amounts to an unmitigated illegality which remains null, void.”

HURIWA called on the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and European Union “to use their collective influences as world leaders of democracy to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to desist from using armed security forces to arm twist and undermine the independence of the legislature.”

The group commended the dismissal of Acting DSS Director General, Mallam Lawal Daura, by Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, “as one of the best things to have happened in the last three years even as the removed DG of DSS must be prosecuted for treason and attempted takeover of government.”

“We are delighted to read that the Acting President on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari has removed from office the Director General of DSS for the illegal invasion of the National Assembly which amounted to a travesty of the principle of rule of law.

“This action of the presidency has indeed prevented the imminent total collapse of constitutional democracy which the invasion of the National Assembly by the armed security forces amounted to. We must safeguard democracy,” HURIWA said.

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