Nigerian security head fired after parliament blockaded

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The chief of Nigeria's security forces was fired after agents prevented lawmakers from entering parliament on Tuesday.

The motive for the blockade was not immediately clear but the opposition characterized it as a bid to intimidate its leaders.

The presidency however condemned the move. A spokesman for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said in a statement that the Department of State Security (DSS) director general, Lawal Musa Daura, had been fired. Osinbajo is acting president for Buhari, who last week left for a 10-day holiday in the UK.

"The unlawful act, which was done without the knowledge of the presidency, is condemnable and completely unacceptable," said the statement issued by Osinbajo's office.

The standoff at parliament was the first such incident since Nigeria became a democracy in 1999 and coincides with increased tension between the National Assembly and the executive ahead of an election in February 2019 when President Muhammadu Buhari will seek a second term.

A man reacts next to a member of security forces at the entrance of the National Assembly in Abuja, August 7, 2018. /VCG Photo

For some, it revived memories of the decades when the military and security forces held sway over politics in the country that has one of Africa's largest economies.

Armed men wearing the black uniform of the DSS stood at the gates of the building in the capital Abuja and were later joined by police officers blocking entry for up to an hour, witnesses said.

Images of the incident were shared widely on social media.

Nigeria's Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo speaks with youths as he prepares to leave the venue of the launch of Google free Wi-Fi project in Lagos, July 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

Osinbajo's statement described the move as an "unauthorized takeover of the National Assembly complex" which was "a gross violation of constitutional order, rule of law and all accepted notions of law and order."

The statement gave no reason for Daura's dismissal. The presidency later said Matthew B. Seiyefa, the most senior director in the DSS, will act as director general until further notice.

The blockade followed the defection of around 50 lawmakers from Buhari's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party to the main opposition in the last few weeks. These included the country's third most senior elected official, Senate President Bukola Saraki.

Nigeria's Senate President Bukola Saraki arrives to deliver a news conference at the National Assembly in Abuja, August 8, 2018. /VCG Photo

The defections cost the APC its Senate majority and present a challenge to Buhari's re-election bid because most of those who left joined the opposition People's Democratic Party which ruled Nigeria from 1999 until Buhari took office in May 2015.

Saraki's supporters said the blockade was part of a plan to impeach and replace him.

"We urge Nigerians and the international community to condemn this illegal invasion of the National Assembly complex and the attempt to asphyxiate the legislature as undemocratic, uncivilized and irresponsible," said Saraki in a tweet.

Source(s): Reuters