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There was a chaotic moment at the National Assembly on Friday when operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) tried to force two senior staff of the assembly out of the complex in Abuja.
It was gathered that the trouble started when the two staff identified as John Nnadi of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) and Chris Odoh, a Deputy Director, were trying to navigate through the gate linking the Senate new building and white House.
The duo were said to have simply identified themselves with their ID cards when DSS operatives at the complex asked them for proper identification.
However, the DSS operatives reportedly halted their movement when they tried to go into the complex and manhandled them in the process.
Efforts to stop the security operatives from manhandling the staff proved abortive as more personnel joined to physically deal with the staff.
Daily Trust quoted an eyewitness to have stated that the DSS personnel forcefully dragged Nnadi and Odoh to their office within the National Assembly Complex.
The incident was said to have attracted the attention of passersby and staff of a commercial bank, Senate Committee on Public Accounts and journalists from the Senate Press Centre whose offices were along the way.
Angered by the embarrassing treatment, staff of the National Assembly from various offices at the White House, including the Mace bearer in the Senate, gathered in front of the DSS office and threatened to take the matter up if their colleagues were not released.
Subsequently, the Divisional Police Officer in the National Assembly, Alex Annagu, and Deputy Clerk to the Senate (Legislative), Mrs Ilobah Isabella, reportedly calmed the situation.