Snake forces adjournment of parliament in Nigeria

A snake burst onto the chamber floor of a state parliament building in southwest Nigeria, sending lawmakers scampering and forcing an indefinite recess, officials said yesterday. "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," said Olugbenga Omole, a spokesman for lawmakers from Ondo State. The snake appears to have fallen from the roof into the plenary chamber. It did not bite anyone before it was caught and killed by parliament staff, said Omole. He blamed the incident on the dilapidated state of the assembly due to a lack of funds and overdue maintenance. He said lawmakers would not return until a proper fumigation of the complex was done.