Bomb scare in Lagos •Security beefed up at Alausa Secretariat, office of SGF

THERE was panic at the Lagos State Government Secretariat, Alausa, on Thursday, following the rumour of a bomb blast by the Boko Haram sect in the area.
This led to the closure of prominent entrances into the secretariat, including that of the deputy governor, Mrs Joke Orelope-Adefulire.
The development also resulted in heavy human and vehicular traffic within the secretariat as workers and visitors hurried  to flee the scene.
Nigerian Tribune observed that the government had since put stringent security measures in place at the secretariat since five months ago.
Before the April general election, the government introduced new policy to regulate the closing and opening of the main secretariat gate. The gate is now locked at 7.00 p.m. unlike before when it was left open for 24 hours.
Also, no visitor is allowed into the secretariat on weekends, as the main gate is permanently closed while workers on special duty are requested to show their staff identity card to enter the premises.
However, the arrangement to allow workers and visitors to pass through the deputy governor’s office was broken on Thursday, as the gate remained shut to prevent any terrorist attack.
According to the police officer, who spoke to Nigerian Tribune at the deputy governor’s gate, the closure was an instruction by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Yakubu Alikali.
The police officer said no vehicle would be allowed to pass through the gate until he received a new order from the state police command.
Commenting on the matter, a member of staff of the state government, who refused to mention his name, said that the closure could cause more havoc, adding that it had resulted in serious traffic around the secretariat.
He said: “With the traffic now, more people are concentrated at the other gates to get out of the secretariat. This is more dangerous. I think the police should find a better way to address this instead of closing one of the prominent exits.”
Meanwhile, the downpour in the metropolis caused serious flooding in Ikeja area of the state, leading to heavy traffic.
Most commutters were stranded due to the traffic, which lasted for about one hour on the popular Obafemi Awolowo Way and the adjacent routes.
Many members of staff of Lagos  civil service could not leave their offices at the closing hour due to the heavy traffic and the continuous rain in the area.