Soldiers Subject Tambuwal’s Vehicle to Search

                          
                                                Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal
Soldiers yesterday in Kaduna insisted on searching the official car conveying the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and in the process prevented him from entering the premises of a hotel for a few minutes.

The incident occurred at the entrance of Hotel Seventeen located along Lafia Road in Kaduna, the venue of an international conference on Security and Development Challenges of Pastoralism in West and Central Africa that was attended by the speaker.

Tambuwal had arrived the venue of the conference at 9.15 am ahead of other important dignitaries. He was however stopped from gaining entry to the hotel premises by the soldiers deployed to ensure security in the place.

This was in spite of the seal of his office and flag, which were conspicuously displayed in front of the car.

Protests by security aides attached to the speaker fell on deaf ears as the soldiers who were well armed rebuffed them and insisted on searching his car before allowing him into the premises.

The speaker, who was said to have been embarrassed by the attitude of the soldiers, angrily alighted from his car and walked into the hotel premises and to the conference hall, leaving behind his official car to avoid any ugly scene.

A security official, who was present at the scene of the incident but pleaded for anonymity, described the incident as unbelievable, stressing that he had never seen such an embarrassing situation in all his years in the service.

“Initially, we never knew it was the speaker coming, but on getting closer, I discovered that it was the speaker. Then I heard one of the soldiers saying they must search the car.

“But the security officials attached to the speaker protested. However, their protests fell on deaf ears. I saw the speaker come down and walk away,” he said.

The Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media, Mallam Imam Imam, who confirmed the incident, said it was very unusual for security operatives to search a staff car belonging to the speaker, adding that Nigerians should be able to judge the action of the security agents.

“What they are doing is undermining the legislature as a whole. It is not about the speaker, but the institution. We are just urging them (security) to be mindful of the fact that the institution must be protected at all times.

“The constitution provides that the integrity of the legislature and the executive be protected at all times. If it cannot be protected, then it is unfortunate,” Imam said.

According to him, the soldiers subjected the speaker’s car to a search, using anti-bomb detectors, noting that “if the number four citizen of this country can be subjected to such treatment, only God knows what will happen”.

The speaker, it was learnt, was the only VIP so treated by the soldiers. Others of his calibre, including governors, who attended the conference, were not subjected to similar scrutiny.

The incident was further confirmed by an aide of the speaker who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stating: “There was a conference on security organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser in Kaduna where the speaker was to deliver a speech.

“In the course of getting to the venue, everybody was subjected to security screening including the speaker’s convoy. So there was a delay in the process and the speaker had to walk into the venue due to time constraint.”