Residents in the Maitama area of Nigeria’s capital Abuja feared the worst at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday after a dumpster went up in flames, giving a loud sound.
The blast, which injured two persons, was taken to be a bomb explosion. It occurred outside the Bureau of Public Enterprise in Maitama, Abuja.
But police authorities allayed the fears, saying the explosion was not bomb-related.
The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command said in a statement that “an overheated metal refuse container, activated under intense heat, exploded.”
The two casualties were refuse evacuators who were on duty.
The police have urged Nigerians to refrain from using metal trash cans and instead opt for plastic or rubber containers, which, they said, “pose a reduced risk of incidents related to overheated metal refuse containers.”
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