|
Mohammed faces suspension over
assault on colleague
By Paul Mumeh
Correspondent, Abuja
An ungentlemantly conduct
exhibited by Senator Isa Mohammed last Thursday when he publicly assaulted
a female colleague may lead to his suspension from the Upper House as the
incident begins to sink in to the embarrassment of all other
lawmakers.
Senators will reconvene on
Tuesday to consider the allegation by Senator Iyabode Anisulowo that she
was slapped by Mohammed over the way she handled N1.2 million belonging to
the Committee on States and Local Government Administration.
Physical fight and other ugly
scenes between legislators is not uncommon around the world, even among
relatively mature democracies; but rarely between male and female
colleagues.
So, this Nigerian version is
made more unsavoury as Anisulowo is a female and Mohammed a male. She is
the Chairman of the committee and Mohammed her Deputy. Besides, both are
of the same Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) � she representing Ogun State,
he a representative of Niger State.
Although Mohammed has denied
the charge, Anisulowo insisted on Thursday: �I have already told the
Deputy Senate President (Ibrahim Mantu) about it �. He slapped me before
telling me the reason why he slapped me. The left part of my face is still
aching. I have been to the hospital and I have reported the incident at
the police station�.
Apart from denying on the same
day that such a thing took place, Mohammed issued a statement on Friday
saying: �I accept I had a heated argument with Anisulowo at the National
Assembly, our voices may have been raised but it never went beyond mere
argument �. She only tried to play on sentiments having known her
wrongdoings�.
Mohammed�s defence does not
seem to wash with his fellow legislators because, for one thing, it is
highly unlikely that the woman would have come up with such a serious
false claim and, for another, there were witnesses to the
assault.
The action has drawn the ire
of scores of his colleagues who vowed that he must be punished for gross
misconduct and once again bismearing the institution of the
Senate.
Besides having reported the
assault to Mantu, who is holding forth for Senate President Adolphus
Wabara, and the police, Anisulowo has threatened to go to court to seek
redress.
The Senate Committee on Public
Petitions, Ethics and Privileges, headed by Olorunimbe Mamora, is expected
to probe the matter should Mohammed scale the hurdle of outright
suspension on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, a day sources confirmed
on Sunday that the issue would top the agenda of the plenary.
Last Thursday, Mohammed had
demanded to know from Anisulowo how the committee money was spent, but she
was said to have snubbed him, following which she said he pulled and gave
her a slap on the face.
In turn, she grabbed him by
the collar of his shirt and, but for the intervention of other senators,
including Idris Kuta and Fidelis Okoro, the situation would have
degenerated into a roforofo fight.
| 
