Legislative aide dies at National Assembly complex

A senior legislative assistant with the National Assembly, Mr Abubakar Doki, on Monday, collapsed and died on the National Assembly premises.

The deceased, who was said to be in his early 50, was, until his death, a senior legislative aide attached to the office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yussuf Lasun.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the deceased was said to have taken ill at the early hours of Monday and was brought to the National Assembly clinic.

However, on getting to the clinic, he was told his condition was beyond what facilities at the clinic could handle and was referred to seek treatment outside.

The deceased, brought to the clinic by his son, whose name could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report, collapsed on his way out of the National Assembly complex.

This prompted security operatives, including the National Assembly Sergeant-At-Arm personnel and bystanders, to rush to the scene.

However, their effort at alerting medical personnel from the clinic in an attempt to resuscitate him failed, as he immediately gave up.

A senior medical staff with the Assembly clinic, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said “the deceased came to the clinic for treatment but had to be referred, since his condition was already critical.’’

Asked what the nature of the ailment was, the source said it could not be ascertained since there was no diagnosis done on him to verify it.

According to her, sick members of staff who could not access treatment at the clinic, due to the complexity of their cases, usually come for referral notes to government hospitals outside.

The late Doki, a native of Bungudu in Zamfara State, was, according to National Assembly records, employed under the office of the Deputy Speaker as a senior legislative aide.

It was also disclosed that he was a childhood friend of a ranking member of the House and chairman, House Committee on Finance, Honourable Babangida Ibrahim.