Security details attached to the Minister of State in the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu on Thursday evening descended on security operatives and a television camera man at the Buhari House national secretariat of her ruling All Progressives Congress APC following arguments with in-house operatives manning the secretariat gate.
Aliyu was the National Woman Leader of the party in the then Chief John Odigie-Oyegun led National Working Committee NWC before she was appointed a minister.
Following rehabilitation works at the secretariat including the recent building of a 40-seater Media Centre within the premises, security operatives at the secretariat have had the herculean task of maximizing the now limited vehicle parking spaces, with most VIPs only allowed entry with few cars in their convoys.
The situation is such that vehicular entry and exit are controlled in such a such a way as to avoid collisions.
Trouble however started at about 6pm when the minister, who had spent almost an hour meeting women groups at the secretariat, made to leave the secretariat.
Rather than wait for the party’s security operatives to remove the barricade at the gate, one of the security personnel attached to the minister had raced to the gate to forcefully remove it.
“The party’s security chief, a Deputy Superintendent of Police CSP, had asked him to wait so that the unarmed guards could lift the barricade. Without provocation, the Minister’s detail slapped the policeman asking why they delayed in removing the barricade on sighting the minister stepping out of the party building”, said a party official who witnessed the altercation.
He said other security operatives at the secretariat immediately descended on the security detail to the minister whose head was broken in the process.
“On sighting the ensuing fracas, other security personnel in the convoy of the FCT Minister of State jumped down to fight back, while the minister sat back in her Jeep.
“They also rough handled a cameraman who was attempting to film the incident with his phone but on the intervention of two of his colleagues (journalists) who identified themselves as those covering the party, the Minister’s details rushed back into their cars and zoomed out of the premises”, said the source.
Although the party was yet to react to the matter since then, an official of the FCT Administration absolved the minister of any blame.
He said; “They (APC security) only attempted to dent the Minister’s reputation. She came out of the building and met a rowdy situation and was told that people were struggling for money outside the gate.
“She entered her car and left. It was later we got to hear that there was indeed an altercation in which the head of one of our civilian drivers was broken by the APC security guys.
“The fact is that the minister was assaulted and the secretariat security personnel still went ahead to lodge a complaint with the police. This was after the minister had asked us not to lodge any complaint, that as a former Wan Leader of the party and a minister, she would wade into the issue and resolve it informally”, said the official.