The former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has denied reports alleging that 47 pump-action guns were discovered in his office.
In a statement this Wednesday, signed by Obasa’s aide and himself, the former Speaker dismissed the claims as a concocted story designed to tarnish his reputation.
Online reports on Tuesday claimed that officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) uncovered firearms during a visit to the assembly on Monday. Some versions suggested the weapons were found in Obasa’s office, while others pointed to the former Chief Security Officer’s office.
The statement read, “The ill-conceived story, apart from being a complete concoction, clearly exposes its author and paymasters as malicious and of low intelligent quotient, only out to malign my hard-earned reputation spanning decades of political leadership and legislative hard work.”
Obasa added that he was out of the country from December until January, by which time he had been removed as Speaker.
“Immediately their sinister act was carried out while the House was on recess, my office (the Speaker’s Office) and the Assembly Chamber were forcefully broken into and thoroughly ransacked by their assigned officers,” he claimed.
He described the alleged discovery of firearms as an afterthought, saying it was an attempt to justify what he called the illegal actions leading to his removal.
However, a DSS source on Tuesday told newsmen that the report of the agency uncovering weapons at the assembly was false.