Chaos erupted in the White House section of the National Assembly (NASS) on Friday over the assault of two senior staff by personnel from the Department of State Services (DSS).
Trouble befell the two senior staff of the National Assembly at approximately 11:45am at the gate connecting the Senate’s new building and White House when they were asked to verify their identities by DSS operatives stationed at the gate.
Eyewitness accounts confirmed that the two staff members, namely John Nnadi of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) and Chris Odoh, a Deputy Director, showed their identity cards to the DSS operatives but were halted for not properly identifying themselves.
As senior staff of NASS, their attempts to proceed to the White House section from the Senate’s new building were forcefully obstructed by DSS operatives, resulting in rough treatment from both sides and outright physical assault from the DSS operatives.
Efforts made by passersby, including our reporter, to resolve the crisis infuriated the DSS operatives, who were later joined by four other personnel. They descended heavily on the two affected staff, dragging John Nnadi and pushing Deputy Director Chris Idoh to their office at the White House.
The forceful movement and dragging of John Nnadi and Chris Odoh to the DSS office from the connecting point, which is approximately 125 metres away, drew sympathetic attention from staff at Unity Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), employees of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, and journalists from the Senate Press Centre, whose offices were along the way.
Annoyed by the embarrassing scene, staff from various offices at the White House, including the Mace bearer in the Senate, spontaneously gathered in front of the DSS office and threatened severe consequences if the two arrested senior staff were not immediately released.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at the National Assembly, Alex Annagu, and Deputy Clerk to the Senate (Legislative), Mrs. Ilobah Isabella, hurriedly rushed to the scene to calm the situation and appealed to everyone to return to their respective offices.
While listening to the appeal from the DPO and Deputy Clerk, one of the assaulted staff members, John Nnadi, stormed out of the DSS office, shouting that the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Alhaji Sani Magaji Tambawal, must be informed about the injustice and intimidation they were subjected to by the DSS operatives.
His suggestion was spontaneously accepted by the crowd, who joined him in marching to the office of the CNA, where they chanted “We will not tolerate this intimidation by DSS” for about 15 minutes before dispersing, as the CNA was not in the office at that time.
Upon returning to the lobby, the DPO made further appeals to the assaulted staff and others, urging them to allow peace to prevail as his office and that of the DSS were already comparing notes on what transpired.
“My appeal to everyone at this point, particularly Mr. John Nnadi, is that we should all return to our offices. John Nnadi should go to the clinic for a medical check-up to assess any injuries that may have been inflicted on him during the alleged physical assault.
“Gathering here and chanting solidarity songs will not rectify any wrongdoing that may have occurred, but going to the clinic for medical examination and potential documentation of any injuries from the alleged assault will assist in building a case,” he said.
The assaulted John Nnadi, later joined by Chris Odoh (a Deputy Director), proceeded to the clinic, clearing the way for the agitated crowd to disperse at around 12:35pm.”
