Reps Fear National Assembly May Be Next Boko Haram Target

They said attackers were becoming daring and could soon target places like the National Assembly at their pleasure.

They also observed that responses to terror attacks by security agencies were weak, leaving attackers, in many cases, to operate unhindered.

They cited Monday’s attacks by gunmen on the office of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Abuja as a case in point.

Members raised the concerns when they debated a motion on Tuesday’s robbery attacks in Auchi, Edo State.

Three soldiers, policemen and civilians were said to be among those killed.

The sponsor of the motion, Mr. Abubakar Momoh, complained that the robbers invaded Auchi and operated for hours as it pleased them.

Momoh called for urgent solutions by the Federal Government.

However, it was Mr. Rapheal Nnanna’s contribution that frightened the lawmakers.

He recalled that the attack on the SARS office came barely 24 hours after terrorists bombed a church at the Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna.

No fewer than 17 lives were lost in the incident.

According to Nnanna, if Jaji and SARS could be attacked, the National Assembly Complex is not safe as well.

The lawmaker said, “The state of insecurity in the country has reached an embarrassing level.

“What happened in Jaji and SARS headquarters is embarrassing to the leadership and people of this nation.

“I see these people coming to the National Assembly very soon.”

The Minority Whip of the House, Mr. Samson Osagie, said criminal gangs were operating in the country with little or no resistance, describing the trend as “really dangerous and requires urgent solutions.”

But, another member, Mr. Jerry Alagbaso, observed that rather than criticising security agencies, government should fund their operations adequately.

Meanwhile, the Force Headquarters has dismissed claims by an unknown Islamic sect, Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis-Sudan, that it carried out the Monday attack on the Special Anti-Robbery Squad detention facility, describing it as false and a move to deceive Nigerians.

Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, who said this in Abuja on Wednesday, stated that the claim by the group was meant to embarrass the government and security agencies as well as instil fear in the people.

The sect had claimed that it released 387 detainees from the SARS facility during the attack on the centre, but the police argued that the facility did not have the space to accommodate up to 300 persons, insisting that the sect was making a spurious claim to buy cheap popularity.