Eagle Square, the venue of Sunday’s presidential
inauguration, lacked the usual crowd witnessed at public ceremonies as
only guests and dignitaries invited for the occasion were allowed access
into it by security operatives.
The News Agency of Agency reports that armed security personnel, supported by sniffer dogs, took position outside the square.
The tight security measures might have been informed by the twin bomb explosions which rocked some spots near the Eagle Square during the celebration of the country’s 50th independence anniversary on October 1, 2010.
The blasts left several people, most of them security personnel dead.
Guests gathered in front of the Federal Ministry of Finance where they were conveyed in designated buses marked “Presidential Inauguration” to the square.
The guests were thoroughly screened by plain-clothes security men before they were allowed to disembark at the venue of the ceremony.
The guests bore invitation cards which came in three different colours with numbers assigned according to the sitting arrangement.
The entire area, in and around the venue, was cordoned off, as vehicular traffic was diverted to the adjoining roads while military helicopters hovered around.
However, a group of students from the University of Abuja gathered at the finance ministry protesting the denial of access to the venue.
Mr. Isun Donald, a 400-level English student of the university, said they were frustrated because they were not allowed into the venue.
He said, “We came here to witness the ceremony and not to beg for money.
“We came here to support the President but we were denied access; we are frustrated.”
By Agency Reporter Courtesy Of: Punch
The News Agency of Agency reports that armed security personnel, supported by sniffer dogs, took position outside the square.
The tight security measures might have been informed by the twin bomb explosions which rocked some spots near the Eagle Square during the celebration of the country’s 50th independence anniversary on October 1, 2010.
The blasts left several people, most of them security personnel dead.
Guests gathered in front of the Federal Ministry of Finance where they were conveyed in designated buses marked “Presidential Inauguration” to the square.
The guests were thoroughly screened by plain-clothes security men before they were allowed to disembark at the venue of the ceremony.
The guests bore invitation cards which came in three different colours with numbers assigned according to the sitting arrangement.
The entire area, in and around the venue, was cordoned off, as vehicular traffic was diverted to the adjoining roads while military helicopters hovered around.
However, a group of students from the University of Abuja gathered at the finance ministry protesting the denial of access to the venue.
Mr. Isun Donald, a 400-level English student of the university, said they were frustrated because they were not allowed into the venue.
He said, “We came here to witness the ceremony and not to beg for money.
“We came here to support the President but we were denied access; we are frustrated.”
By Agency Reporter Courtesy Of: Punch
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