Lawmakers in a Nigerian state were forced to flee the chamber after a snake was seen during session, officials said on Friday.
The incident has prompted authorities in the southwestern Ondo State to send the house into an indefinite recess.
“When we were about to enter into plenary, a big snake just ran out of the chamber which disrupted our sitting and we had to hurriedly leave the chamber,” a spokesman for lawmakers from Ondo State, Olugbenga Omole said.
Reports indicate that the snake fell from the roof of the chamber before making a dash for the door.
Parliament staff managed to catch and kill the snake.
Omole blamed the incident on the dilapidated state of the chamber, which he attributes to non-maintenance.
The spokesman said the lawmakers would not return to the house until proper fumigation is done.
“That chamber is no longer safe for legislative business and because of that, we decided to adjourn indefinitely. The house will be going on an indefinite recess,” Omole said.
Nigeria is known to have many snake species.
A 2001 study published in the African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences indicated that nearly 500 people per 100,000 of the population are bitten by snakes in the West African country yearly. One in eight die from the snake bites.
