The peace of Aso Rock was shattered on Tuesday when a security operative fired his weapon accidentally and a bullet hit a female staff of the State House in Abuja.
Following media reports on the incident, the Nigerian presidency on Thursday, January 5, 2016, broke its silence on the incident, confirming that a weapon was fired and a staff of the presidency was injured.
Garba Shehu, a spokesperson for President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement said, assured that the Presidential Villa was safe and that the incident was not a breach of security.
“According to the reports received so far, the security official involved in this incident is not attached to the State House. Rather, he came on invitation as a witness in an ongoing investigation and was required, as is the rule, to surrender his weapon at the gates before entry,” Shehu wrote on Facebook.
“Investigation revealed that the operative conducted the normal safety precaution as professionally required when the pistol accidentally fired.
“The lady by his side, a caterer was hit by a pellet of the bullet. Both of them were attended to at the clinic and discharged.”
This incident in not the first time that a weapon has been discharged accidentally in the Presidential Villa.
In February 2016, what could have been a serious diplomatic row between Denmark and Nigeria was averted Tuesday when an operative of Nigeria’s Secret Police, the Department of State Security Services (also called DSS or SSS) accidentally discharged his weapon in the presence of the visiting Danish Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Kristian Jensen.
Jensen was on a working visit to Nigeria and was at the Presidential Villa, Abuja to meet with Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. While Jensen and his entourage were passing through security clearance, a DSS official discharged his weapon.
“Immediately, there was panic and the security detail of the visiting Danish foreign minister whisked him into the toilet for safety,” a security source told The Trent, which reported the story exclusively.
“It was discovered that the weapon was discharged accidentally. It was a big relief for all of us present. Nigeria, certainly, missed a bullet with that one,” our source, who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity, said.
The Danish foreign minister confirmed the incident on his Twitter handle, commending The Trent for our story on this incident.
God historie, men faktisk et ret uskadeligt vådeskud….. Gode møder og erhvervssamarbejde #dkpol #dkbiz https://t.co/oQZhJY5eCz
— Kristian Jensen (@Kristian_Jensen) February 23, 2016
