The Enugu State Police Command on Saturday denied locking up the state House of Assembly, which has been under locks since 14 lawmakers moved to impeach Governor Sullivan Chime on May 3.
The House was thrown into crisis after the development as about seven lawmakers, who were opposed to the planned impeachment, ‘removed’ the Speaker, Eugene Odoh, and elected Chinedu Nwamba in his place.
Odoh and Nwamba are both laying claims to the office of the Speaker, but the closure of the Assembly complex means that none of the parties has had the opportunity to hold plenary in the House since May 3.
However, following an ex parte application by Odoh, an Enugu Federal High Court ordered the police to reopen the Assembly to enable the lawmakers to gain access to the chambers in order to carry out their duties.
About a week after the court order, the House of Assembly is still under locks and a team of riot policemen remains in position in front of the locked entrance gate.
The development prompted the court to threaten to commit the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, who is a defendant in the suit filed by the Speaker, Odoh, to prison for contempt of court.
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But the police have surprisingly, denied locking the Assembly.
The spokesman for the Enugu State Police Command, Ebere Amaraizu, in an interview with our correspondent, said the police were not in possession of the keys of the padlocks used to lock the complex.
He said the riot police squad was only positioned in front of the locked gate in order to maintain law and order.
The police spokesman pointed out that a police station was situated within the Assembly complex.
Speaking to our correspondent on the telephone, Amaraizu said, “We (police) are not in possession of the keys, we are not the lawmakers, neither are we the sergeant-at-arms of the House of Assembly.”
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