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IMPUNITY! That’s one word that has become synonymous in the Nigerian political and security space. This is a country where politicians and security agents, albeit public officers take laws into their hands. Some of them behave so recklessly without thinking of the short and long term damage their acts of impunity have on the psyche of Nigerians albeit the entire world which is also watching. There have been cases where security agents unleash terror on their victims, public officials acting with impunity in siphoning pension funds while starving hapless pensioners to their early grave. Judges are also not immuned to acts of impunity in handing out uneven handed judgements that do not match the crime committed as witnessed in the recent trial of pension fraudsters who have stolen billions of money. But nowhere is the act of impunity more horrifying than in the fracas that took place in the Rivers State House of Assembly July 10.

On that day, the “dishonorable” members of the House took laws into their hands. Some of them aided by security aides of Governor Chibuike Amaechi, used dangerous weapons in an attempt to murder their colleagues. Nigerians were appalled when the news filtered in that five members of the House had impeached their speaker of the House. How can it be? Everyone asked because five cannot form a quorum. Initially, what was sold to the public was that the five legislators chased the majority away in the House and had their way. As more video clips of the pandemonium in the House became public, people were horrified at the murderous instincts of some of the legislators, especially that of Chidi Lloyd, the majority leader. Then right thinking Nigerians started asking more questions of what actually transpired in the House. It turned out that the minority were actually the ones the majority battered. But the key question has remained why was the news report terribly slanted? In all the allegations against the minority group why hasn’t anybody produced a video clip of where they attacked the faction of the House that belonged to the majority? Nonetheless, there has been various accounts as to what led to recent crisis and the genesis. Those in the group of 27 trace it to the court ruling which sacked the PDP executives in the state. They insist that only a reversal can solve the problem. The minority members also say that it started with the undemocratic sacking of the elected chairman of Obio-Akpor local government chairman and that only a reversal of the sack can save the day. Amidst the extreme positions of the disputing parties and the slanted news reports, Realnews editorial board has decided to present the facts of what really happened in the Rivers State House of Assembly and allow our dear readers to sift the truth from the trash. The cover story entitled: Rivers House of Commotion, was anchored by Olu Ojewale, general editor.

Maureen Chigbo
Editor

mechigbo@yahoo.com  |  +234 08052528603

— Jul. 22, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT