Minister-designate for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, has denied allegations levelled against him of his involvement in summoning the military into the Chamber of Parliament.
At his vetting on February 11, 2021, Mr. Nitiwul told the Appointments Committee of his inability to invite the military into the House. He said. “I was not the Minister for Defence at that time. I did not have the capacity to move the military.”
He further stated his position in the House and which people surrounded him to disprove the claims.
“I was sitting with the Independent Member of Parliament and they can confirm it. I only got up to get some water. I did not go anywhere to make any call.” He said.
Mr. Nitiwul also denied knowledge of the commander who led the team of military men into the House.
Background
On January 6, 2021, the military entered the Chamber of Parliament in a bid to control some altercations that arose during voting to elect the new Speaker.
The presence of the military raised lots of questions and fomented discussions in the media. Mr. Murtala Mohammed in an interview accused Mr. Nitiwul for inviting them.
These were his words: “Dominic Nitiwul called the military into the chamber—armed military men—they were armed to the teeth and that is completely unacceptable.”
“I was there when he was making the call and I confronted him. I asked him whether he did not feel embarassed for what he was doing. You may challenge this but I was not the only person there. I have witnesses. He made the call in the chamber.”
“Never in our history have we had armed military men deployed into the chamber. It was completely unacceptable. The minister of defence made the call when he was standing with me. And I told him it was not necessary because it will be a blur on the integrity of this house.”
