Former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has refuted claims that firearms were discovered in his office, dismissing the reports as false and malicious.
On Tuesday, online reports alleged that officials of the Department of State Services uncovered 47 pump-action guns during a visit to the assembly on Monday.
A DSS source also confirmed to The PUNCH on Tuesday that the reports claiming the agency uncovered weapons at the assembly were false.
While some reports suggested the firearms were found in Obasa’s office, others linked them to the former Chief Security Officer’s office.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his aide and personally signed by him, Obasa denounced the reports as a fabrication designed to tarnish his reputation.
The statement, titled “Re: DSS Uncovers Arms Cache In Obasa’s Office Day After Lagos Assembly Drama,” directly addressed the allegations.
Describing the claims as baseless, Obasa said, “The ill-conceived story, apart from being a complete concoction, clearly exposes its author and paymasters as maliciously of low intelligent quotient, only out to malign my hard-earned reputation spanning decades of political leadership and legislative hard work.”
He further referenced the report’s claim that security operatives took inventory of the firearms and secured them for investigation, countering it as an attempt to frame him.
“From the foregoing, it is obviously discerning that my traducers are furtively attempting to call a dog a bad name just to hang it,” he stated.
Obasa pointed out that he was not even in the country when the alleged discovery was made, having traveled abroad in late December and returned in January, after his removal as Speaker, an issue that remains in court.
“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 said, arguing that the reported discovery was a deliberate move to justify what he called an illegal invasion of his office.
