The immediate past Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has described as the handiwork of his traducers, the cache of arms and ammunition allegedly found in his office.
Obasa said the allegation was an attempt to tarnish his image.
Obasa, a six-term lawmaker, said this in a statement on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Online publications had claimed the Assembly uncovered a significant cache of arms in the office of the ousted Speaker on Tuesday.
The reports added that the arms allegedly included about 47 pump-action rifles and live cartridges, stored within the Speaker’s office space.
It was gathered that after the discovery, the Department of State Services (DSS) was notified.
The DSS operatives later arrived to take inventory of the arms, with an investigation scheduled.
Reacting to the allegation, Obasa, a three-term Speaker, said it was evident his detractors were attempting to malign his reputation by fabricating the claims against him.
He described the allegation as illogical and baseless, saying it was doomed from the outset and lacked credibility.
Obasa stated: “My attention has been drawn to a viral hatchet but lazy journalistic story with above title and purportedly authored by an imaginary Tosin Oladeinde-Bada on February 18,2025.
“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 maligned my hard earned reputation spanning decades of political leadership and legislative hardwork.
“In their haste to criminally defame my person, their laughable story, an outright abuse of social media platforms, left so many gaps, with apparent questions begging for answers.
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“The story claimed phantom sources in the assembly and also revealed that the discovery came ‘a day after an uproar occasioned by the presence of the DSS in the assembly complex’.
“From the foregoing, it is obviously discerning that my traducers are furtively attempting to call a dog a bad name just to hang it.
“My traducers failed to inject in their sponsored story that Hon. Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, through a non existent ‘Acting Clerk’s position’ that is unknown to the House, wrote a letter containing fiction that stated that l was erroneously planning to storm the Assembly. She voluntarily invited the DSS and not until her unthoughtful action boomeranged that their blackmail story changed.
“However, it is of public knowledge that l travelled abroad around the end month of December and returned in mid-January of this year by which time the legislative coupists had illegally surplanted my leadership of the house. A matter that is currently before the court of law for adjudication.
“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.
“Apart from not finding anything incriminating in my office at that point in time, Hon. Meranda before and upon resumption into my office brought in her prayer warriors and other spiritual people to pray and cleanse the office.
“For a month now, she has been conducting her contentious affairs without raising any eyebrows from The Speaker’s office.
“I consider their purported sudden discovery of ,cache of arms ammunition’ in The Speaker’s office as nothing but an afterthought, having sensed the futility of their illegal actions. Now, their phantom evil story making the rounds is devoid of any logic and dead on arrival like the discovered planted camera at the Lekki Toll Gate, weeks after the End SARS protest brouhaha.
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“It is necessary to also state that my traducers have relentlessly told unverifiable lies against my person in recent months. Their unsubstantiated, bogus claims are legendary from lying that I constructed a gate with N16billion to buying a unit of Toyota Hilux truck for N40billion amongst other unreasonable accusations.”
“What is next in their armory of blackmail? Is it to accuse me of harassment, rape, stealing or murder? I do not know what other blackmail and mischief my traducers may further be planning but all right thinking members of the public should know that their story is nothing but lies from the pit of hell.”
It would be recalled that on January 13, a speakership crisis erupted following Obasa’s removal over alleged financial misconduct and gross impropriety.
Obasa was immediately replaced by his Deputy, Mojisola Meranda, while Fatai Mojeed was appointed as the new Deputy Speaker.
Last Friday, Obasa approached the Lagos High Court to challenge his removal by his colleagues.
However, chaos erupted at the Assembly on Monday as lawmakers and staff clashed with DSS operatives upon their arrival at the complex.
The Assembly complex was shut for several hours before legislative staff forced open the chamber’s doors, resuming activities amid heightened tension.
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