The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has contradicted the National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA) report on the explosion that occurred near the Mogadishu Army Cantonment in Abuja.
According to Wike, the incident was not a suicide bombing, but rather an accidental detonation of an explosive device stolen from a quarry site.
“The man was not a suicide bomber. He accidentally triggered explosives he had taken from a quarry site.
”This was a tragic accident, not a terror attack,” Wike explained during an inspection tour of ongoing projects in the FCT ¹.
Wike’s account differs significantly from NEMA’s report, which attributed the explosion to a suicide bomber attempting to infiltrate the army barracks with an improvised explosive device (IED).
NEMA stated that the bomber died instantly after the IED detonated while trying to gain entry into the barracks, leaving one passerby injured ².
“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,” Wike said, emphasising that his administration would not spread misinformation.
The police had launched a comprehensive investigation, including forensic analysis, to determine the exact cause and nature of the explosion.
Wike assured that Abuja remained a safe place, saying, “Abuja remains the safest place in Nigeria and his administration would not relent in its effort to maintain the status quo” .
