The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed the claim by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) that the explosion that occurred in front of the Mogadishu (Abacha) Military Barracks in Abuja on Monday was the result of a suicide bombing.
Wike made the clarification on Thursday while speaking to journalists during the inspection of ongoing road projects slated for commissioning to mark President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second year in office.
The Minister, while addressing questions on the incident, said he had been properly briefed and insisted there was no indication that the explosion was linked to terrorism, as earlier suggested by NEMA.
He said, “The security never said it was a suicide bomber. So don’t go and create an impression and put fear in people. NEMA is not the head of security. Security agencies are there.
“What happened was that there was somebody that went to where we have these quarries, where they blast all these rocks. The person took the explosive and put it in his pocket. Of course, some of them may not even understand the implication of that and so, it exploded on him.
“So that does not mean that it is a suicide bomber. We should be careful in the story we are planting; let’s not send the wrong message to the residents.”
Pilot News had earlier reported that the explosion occurred around 1:47 p.m. on Monday, near a checkpoint directly opposite the Mogadishu Army Cantonment, commonly known as Abacha Barracks, along the Mararaba–Nyanya expressway in Abuja. One person was reported dead and another injured as a result of the incident.
Confirming the explosion, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had issued a statement titled “NEMA Responds to an Incident of Bomb Explosion in Abuja”, in which it described the incident as a bomb explosion.
While NEMA’s statement appeared to suggest the explosion was a deliberate act, neither the police nor the military have officially released their findings.
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