Stampede over bomb scare at N’Assembly (Chickens)

Posted by admin House, Legislature, Senate Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

It was a joke carried too far yesterday as a ploy by staffers of the National Assembly’s Sergeant-at-Arms’ office to stop the influx of visitors to the complex following a rumoured attack caused a bomb scare.

Legislative and administrative activities were disrupted following the claim that the dreaded Boko Haram planned to bomb the complex yesterday. However, security operatives in the National Asembly, upon investigation, said it was a hoax. They said the rumour was unfounded.

The Islamic fundamentalists claimed responsibility for the bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja. No fewer than 23 people died in the August 26, attack which also injured several others. The incident came barely two months after Boko Haram bombed the Police headquarters in June this year. The attack claimed two lives.

But at the National Assembly complex yesterday, shortly after the plenary session ended at about 3.35 pm, there was a stampede towards the exit gates as workers suddenly shut their offices upon an authorised directive to leave the premises on account of Boko Haram threat.
Bomb scare from the Boko Haram sect had at different times caused pandemonium in Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan and other Nigerian cities.

Recently, there was stampede in Lagos when a local government employee raised the alarm over an object suspected to be Improvised Explosive Device (IED) discovered in one of the offices. The discovery sent panic among the workers making them to scamper for safety.
Members of the sect also caused panic at the University of Ibadan a few weeks ago when it was rumoured that Boko Haram had mapped out plans to bomb the university and 12 others.The rumour led to students’ protests, which delayed the commencement of the second semester examination.

Concerned by the spate of bombings across the land and the worsening insecurity in the land, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, last Wednesday was on a peace mission to Maiduguri where he called on the brother-in-law to the slain leader of the Boko Haram sect, Mohammed Yusuf. Mixed reactions had since trailed the move, following the killing of Obasanjo’s host by unknown gunmen a day after the visit.

Meanwhile, at the National Assembly complex, banks, business centres and food canteens immediately closed shop and directed their staff to move out of the complex.
Daily Sun investigations, however, gathered that it was a false alarm.
The Sergeant-at-Arms, Colonel Emeka Okere (retd) confirmed to Daily Sun that it was a false alarm as there was no intelligence report to that effect.

“There’s nothing like a plot to bomb here. It’s just the handiwork of idle hands. A similar thing happened at the Federal Secretariat when somebody raised a similar alarm. I have contacted all the security agencies and all the stakeholders and there’s nothing like that.

“Nobody gave any directive to evacuate the premises. I even called all the security men manning the gates at the complex and they all told me there’s nothing like that.”
Regardless, police sources in the complex said the rumour emanated from men of the Sergeant-at-Arms at the main gate of the White House Complex of the National Assembly.
It was learnt that they were trying to discourage huge number of visitors trying to force their way into the complex. As a result of the incident, the NASS management immediately summoned an emergency meeting of the security services in the complex to review the situation.

“The men at the checkpoint started what led to the panic exodus. They probably wanted to check the influx of visitors into the complex. You know the lawmakers were on recess before and soon as they resumed, there was this sudden increase in the number of people coming to this place and there is no way we can turn them back.”

As part of the security measures to secure the National Assembly, vehicular movement into the premises of the complex has been restricted to only principal officers, senators and members of the House of Representatives while other staff, ancillary workers and management staff have been directed to pack their vehicles outside the premises.

-Sunwp_posts