Police tear-gas guests, pregnant woman at Jonathan's daughter wedding in Abuja

Some guests that attended the wedding of President Goodluck Jonathan’s foster daughter, Inebharapu and her husband, Simeon, on Saturday got more than they bargained for when security agents, who had a lot of difficulties controlling the surging crowd, resorted to the use of teargas.

Among the crowd that attended the wedding were a large number of women, who were conveyed to the venue in their hundreds in long buses belonging to the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company.

Policemen, soldiers and officials of the Department of State Security made frantic efforts to push back some guests at the main gate. When the situation became too rowdy, they used tear gas to disperse the agitated guests.


While scampering to safety, many people sustained various degrees of injury.

A pregnant woman simply identified by her relatives as Oby went into coma

and was quickly rushed into an ambulance belonging to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. When she could not be stabilised after about 15 minutes, she was driven in an ambulance marked CD 53 A to a hospital.

Good Samaritans helped to resuscitate many other people by pouring water on them.

Meanwhile, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, made a surprise appearance at the church wedding.

Obasanjo and Jonathan have not been seen together in public events lately, especially since the public presentation of his book, My Watch, which is critical of the President.