Tight security as FG marks Independence inside Villa

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday led other top government officials, former heads of government and friends of the nation, to mark the nation’s 53rd Independence anniversary   inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The anniversary was marked  with the commemorative Presidential Change of Guards Parade  at the forecourt of the highly fortified Villa.

It  was the third time the grand finale of the nation’s Independence celebrations was held inside the Villa. Although the Presidency had consistently denied that security concerns  were responsible for this,  tight security in the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday seemed to lend credence to the theory of fear.

During the nation’s 50th Independence anniversary on  October 1, 2010,  two car bombings  by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta  near  the Eagle Square in Abuja claimed the lives of  12 people and   injured 17. The Eagle Square, the usual venue of  national ceremonies, looked desolate on Tuesday, except for the presence of a   State Security Service assault team in a black pick-up van.  The gun-totting agents blocked a part of the Shehu Shagari Way with a used tyre as they sat in their vehicle and eyed passing motorists.

The anniversary celebration on Tuesday which  turned out to be  more of a   military event, was conducted by two battalions of the Presidential Guards Brigade — the 177 Battalion based in Keffi and the Seventh Guards Battalion, Abuja.

It  lasted about one-and-a-half hours  and featured the inspection of new guard/quarter guard, silent drill, posting of sentries/colour patrol and echelon reporting of parade among others.

At the end of the parade, Jonathan, who was flanked  by service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar,  signed the independence anniversary register and released pigeons to signify peace.

The President also led dignitaries to cut the anniversary cake.

Unlike in 2012 when he wore a military uniform of a Field Marshal, Jonathan was dressed in his usual traditional wear this year. Also unlike last year’s event, his wife, Patience, did not accompany him.

The dignitaries at the event included Vice-President Namadi Sambo;  President of the Senate, David Mark; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwwal; Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mariam Mukhtar; the   Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha;a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon ; and ex-Head, Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan.

Others were former Chief of General Staff, Oladipo Diya; National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Bamanga Tukur; Chairman of the PDP  Board of Trustees, Anthony Anenih; former President of the Senate, Adolphus Wabara;  President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Ayo Oritsejafor; Chief Imam of the National Mosque, Abuja, Ustaz  Muhammad; members of the diplomatic corps, members of the Federal Executive Council,  and members of the National Assembly, among others.

However, there was tight security in the FCT,  following fears that there might be a terror attack to disrupt  the anniversary celebration.

Personnel of  security agencies, including the police, the State Security Service, the  Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Army, were very visible at nearly all junctions and strategic locations in the territory.

An Armoured Personnel Carrier manned by soldiers and policemen, was stationed at Nyanya, a gateway to the FCT.

Important public buildings in the FCT  like the National Assembly complex, the  Federal Secretariat, the National Ecumenical Centre, Radio House,  the National Mosque, the Central Bank building, public parks and gardens, as well as other strategic structures were  placed under protection.

The Inspector-General of Police had earlier placed all policemen on the red alert against the backdrop of intelligence report that terrorists  might  strike during the one-day national holiday.

Motorists, who expected to have a free drive on Abuja roads, were surprised by checkpoints manned by security personnel  at random locations. The operatives   searched passing vehicles and their occupants.

A  military source said it was necessary to beef up security in the FCT and other parts of the nation to avert a major security breach by terrorists.

“The security beef-up in the FCT and other states was to ensure that we were not embarrassed by terrorist attacks or any security breach and that is why we were searching vehicles because we didn’t want to give any breathing space to criminals,” the source  said.

PUNCH