Protesters Storm National Assembly
On June 17, Wednesday, a group of protesters stormed the National Assembly, demanding death penalty as punishment for corruption in the country.
Protesters, who spoke under a group Voice of the Voiceless, stressed that Nigeria would not make progress if corruption in public office was not brought under control.
The Punch reports that members of the group wrote separate letters to Yakubu Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and Bukola Saraki, the Senate president,
In the letter to the House of Representatives, which was signed by Oliver Ezeala, the national coordinator of the group, the protesters wrote:
“Corruption, as we are all aware of, has eaten so deep into the fabric of this great nation and we are strongly advocating the death penalty to anybody who is found guilty of corrupt practices, no matter how highly-placed such an individual is in the society. Nigeria has tried every other measure of deterrent but to no avail.
“We want this great nation to toe the path of countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, China and other world powers who have achieved so much developmental strides as a result of their zero tolerance for corruption.”
The protesters expressed confidence that with President Muhammadu Buhari in power, the fight against corruption would be fast-tracked.
Meanwhile, Yusuf Lasun, the deputy speaker of the House, deplored the high rate of unemployment in the country.
Lasun made his statement on June 17, in Abuja when some Osun state indigenes paid him a visit at the National Assembly.
However, the deputy speaker promised that the House of Representatives would partner the executive arm of government to tackle the problem.
“Since the (federal) capital was moved out of Lagos, it is very difficult to get employment for our people. It is horrible to hear that people collect money from young graduates to get employed,” he told the visitors.
Last month a group of protesters besieged the Defence House in the Maitama area of Abuja, which President Muhammadu Buhari is currently using as his office, to demand capital punishment for corrupt officials.
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