Count Police out of NASS siege, IGP tells Osinbajo

The presidency in a statement said the obstruction of lawmakers was without its consent.

Members of security forces block the entrance of the National Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, August 7, 2018.

Daura is however in a closed-door meeting with the Acting President, now holding at the presidential villa in Abuja.

He said the standoff at the NASS complex reached him as a surprise, adding that the police would soon issue a statement in relation to the impasse. "When I have a detailed picture, we'll make a release about it".

Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has reacted to the sack of the Director-General of the Department of State Security Services, DSS, Lawal Daura.

It described the move as an "unauthorised takeover of the National Assembly complex" which was "a gross violation of constitutional order, rule of law and all accepted notions of law and order".

The Tuesday siege was mainly carried out by the DSS and lasted from the early hours of Tuesday till afternoon. After the lawmakers were allowed in, other officials and the media remained barred from the premises.

Several of the lawmakers, mostly from the opposition party, posted images and videos of the blockade, which happened early Tuesday morning.