Terrorists planning to bomb National Assembly complex, House of Reps raise the alarm

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, voiced concern over growing security threats to the National Assembly, including a terrorist threat to bomb the legislative complex.

Chairman of the House Committee on Internal Security, Hon. Garba Ibrahim Muhammad, disclosed this on Tuesday during a public hearing on a bill to establish the Legislative Security Directorate, held at the National Assembly complex, Abuja.

The proposed legislation is titled “A bill for an act to provide for the establishment and the functions of legislative security directorate in the national assembly; to provide for the qualification and condition of service of the sergeant-at-arms and other personnel of the directorate and for related matters, 2024 (HB 1632)”.

Muhammad said intelligence reports and security incidents in recent months revealed that the National Assembly has increasingly become a target for criminal and terrorist attacks.

The lawmaker noted that the influx of people into the complex daily, including visitors, lobbyists, and demonstrators, has made it a vulnerable target.

He said: “The National Assembly is going through a lot of security challenges; we have experienced car thefts, motorcycle thefts, vandalism, fake Identity Cards, unwanted visitors accessing the National Assembly without documentation, petty trading, which makes the National Assembly look like a small market.

“We have received threats from terrorists to bomb the National Assembly Complex and threats from protesters to lock up the National Assembly.

Legislators are exposed to threats from constituents and others who have gained easy access to their offices without any formal appointment.”

He warned that, with the ongoing security challenges, if proper measures are not taken, it would truncate legislative activities in the National Assembly