Nigeria Content Online

Following the
October 1st bombing in Abuja, and subsequent bomb threats in the Three
Arms Zone of the Federal Capital Territory, the National Assembly
management has heightened its security check.

The security checks
and restrictions commenced on Monday, as shuttle buses were barred from
the Assembly premises. The acting deputy clerk in the National
Assembly, Olumuyiwa Adejokun, confirmed the new security measures,
saying he was informed that the Assembly is one of the targets for the
bombers.

Mr. Adejokun said
the decision to stop the shuttle buses from coming in was to control
the inflow of visitors into the Assembly. Other measures which the
management has planned to deploy include restriction of visitors’
movement and a log to monitor the frequency of visits to every office.

Henceforth,
visitors would not be allowed to drive their cars into the premises
too. “They will park outside,” Mr. Adejokun said.

With the new
arrangement, non driving staff and visitors would trek about 500 metres
from the gate to their various offices. However, Mr. Adejokun said the
measures are in the best interest of everybody.

“For the safety of every human being communing in here, we need to do this,” he said.

He also stated that
some strategic offices in the Assembly complex would henceforth be
closed to the public, including restriction on the use of personal
laptops to access the free Internet facilities provided by the
management.

National issue

Meanwhile, the
Senate will, today, deliberate a motion on the October 1st bomb blast.
The debate will be led by Anthony Manzo, of the People’s Democratic
Party, Taraba State, drawing the attention of the Senate to the
incident, which he described as a national embarrassment, for necessary
legislative action.

The Senate is
expected to come up with resolutions condemning the act and to urge the
government to tackle the rise in insecurity in the country. It might
also hasten the passage of an anti terrorism bill, which is currently
before the legislators.

The blasts, which
the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, allegedly
claimed responsibility for, have been roundly condemned by Nigerians
and the international community.

The area where the bombs went off, about some hundreds of metres to
the Eagle Square, has been cordoned off since the incident occurred.