There was a commotion on Friday morning at the White House section of the National Assembly (NASS) following the alleged brutalisation of two senior staff by personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The pandemonium broke out around 11:45 am at the gate linking the Senate’s new building with the White House when the two senior officials of the National Assembly were asked to identify themselves by the DSS operatives manning the gate.
Eyewitness accounts indicated that the two staff, namely John Nnadi of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) and Chris Odoh, a Deputy Director, flashed their identity cards to the DSS operatives but were stopped for not identifying themselves properly.
Attempts made by the duo to proceed to the White House section from the Senate’s new building were rebuffed by DSS operatives, which resulted in a fisticuff and outright physical assault by the DSS operatives.
Efforts made by passersby, including our reporter, to resolve the crisis infuriated the DSS operatives who, after being joined by four other personnel, descended heavily on the two affected staff by dragging Nnadi and pushing the Deputy Director (Chris Idoh) to their office at the White House.
The forceful movement and dragging of the duo to the DSS office by its operatives from the link point, which is about 125 metres in distance, drew attention from staff of Unity Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), staffers of Senate Committee on Public Accounts, and journalists from the Senate Press Centre, whose offices were along the way.
Miffed by the embarrassing scene, staff of the National Assembly from various offices at the White House, including the Mace bearer in the Senate, gathered at the front of the DSS office and threatened fire and brimstone if the two arrested senior staff were not released immediately.
In a troubleshooting effort, the DPO in the National Assembly, Alex Annagu, and Deputy Clerk to the Senate (Legislative) Mrs. Ilobah Isabella, hurriedly rushed to the scene to calm frayed nerves by appealing to everybody to return to their offices.
While listening to the appeal from the DPO and Deputy Clerk, one of the brutalised staff (John Nnadi) stormed out of the DSS office shouting that the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Alhaji Sani Magaji Tambawal, must be notified of the injustice and intimidation the DSS operatives subjected him and the Deputy Director to.
His suggestion was spontaneously accepted by the other staff who urged him to march to the office of the CNA, where they chanted “We no go gree o, we no go gree” to this intimidation by DSS for about 15 minutes before dispersing, since the CNA was not in the office then.
On getting back to the lobby, the DPO made further appeals to the brutalised staff and others that peace should be allowed to reign as his office and that of the DSS were already comparing notes on what happened.
“My appeal to all at this point, particularly Mr. John Nnadi, is that we should all return to our offices while John Nnadi goes to the clinic for medical check-up on any injury that may have been inflicted on him from the alleged physical assault.
“Gathering here and chanting solidarity songs will not right whatever wrongs that might have been committed, but going to the clinic for medical examination and possible establishment of any injury from the alleged assault will help in establishing a case,” he said.
The assaulted John Nnadi, who was later joined by Chris Odoh (a Deputy Director), thereafter went to the clinic, paving the way for the enraged crowd to disperse at about 12:35 pm.
