The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has cleared the air on the explosion that occurred on Monday, at the Mogadishu Army Cantonment along the Abuja-Keffi Road, saying it was not a suicide bombing.
Wike, who spoke during an inspection tour of some ongoing projects in the FCT, said the incident occurred when an individual without knowledge stole an explosive from a quarry and was en route to his destination when it detonated.
He stated that Abuja remains the safest place in Nigeria and his administration would not relent in its effort to maintain the status quo.
This is, however, contrary to the report issued by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) which attributed the incident to an individual wearing an improvised explosive device attempting to infiltrate the army cantonment.
One person was injured in Monday’s blast at a bus-stop along the Mararaba-Nyanya Expressway.
The police had said a comprehensive investigation had commenced, including detailed forensic analysis, to ascertain the exact cause and nature of the explosion.
But in a statement on Tuesday, NEMA said the explosion occurred when a suicide bomber strapped with an improvised explosive device (IED), attempted to sneak into the Mogadishu army cantonment.
The agency said it was alerted to the explosion at about 1:47 pm on Monday.
Subsequently, a team was immediately activated to coordinate response.
“The team met stern-looking security personnel at the already cordoned scene. Information gathered revealed that a suicide bomber attempted to sneak into the barrack but met his waterloo as the IED exploded on him while trying to negotiate an entry.
“The suicide bomber died instantly leaving one passerby injured. The EOD unit of the NPF evacuated the injured to the National Hospital and took over the scene for further investigation, bringing the operation to a close at 5:29 pm. Stakeholders present included NEMA, the military, NPF, DSS, and the FRSC.”
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