Terrorists have threatened to attack the National Assembly Complex, according to Hon. Garba Ibrahim Muhammad, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Internal Security.
Garba reportedly disclosed the information on Tuesday during a public hearing on a measure aimed at creating a Legislative Security Directorate, which would improve security management and protect members, employees, and guests in the National Assembly.
“Terrorists have threatened to bomb the National Assembly Complex, and demonstrators have threatened to lock up the National Assembly,” Garba said.
The congressman claimed that security risks, such as automobile and motorcycle theft, vandalism, infiltration by unregistered guests, and the use of fictitious identity cards, have increased at Nigeria’s assembly, the country’s seat of democracy.
He cautioned that if the errors are not fixed, legislative activities may be disrupted, which might have serious repercussions for democracy and governance.
“It is obvious that with the ongoing security challenges, it will truncate legislative activities in the National Assembly if proper measures are not taken,” he said. Legislative process, democracy, and the country as a whole will become unstable if operations are blocked because there won’t be any representation, oversight, annual budget, or plenary at all.
Garba claims that in order to guarantee a secure setting for legislative business, efficient security management necessitates a coordinated strategy that integrates several components.
For this reason, this bill is crucial. He clarified, “It aims to address all these issues and adopt global best practices in parliamentary security procedures and architecture.”
At the House of Representatives Conference Hall 028 in Abuja, a measure known as “A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment and Functions of the Legislative Security Directorate in the National Assembly (HB 1632)” was discussed.
Garba emphasized that access must not come at the expense of security, even though he acknowledged that the National Assembly must continue to be accessible to the people as a democratic institution.
Since Parliament must continue to be open to the public, the necessity of strong security measures in the National Assembly cannot be overstated. Nonetheless, he stated, “This Bill is dedicated to guaranteeing the best security architecture in the National Assembly, to protect legislators, staff, visitors, and property.”
Garba also called on state assemblies around the federation to adopt comparable structures in order to improve legislative security on a national level.
He ended by saying, “With these few points of mine, I wish us a peaceful and fruitful hearing that will ultimately bring a turnaround in the National Assembly’s security architecture.”
