A BOMB scare in Asaba, capital of Delta State, yesterday sent government officials scampering for safety. The scare disrupted activities at the Cabinet Office Complex as it was locked by the police.
But the state government dismissed what was suspected to be a bomb as a device at the entrance to the office of the Head of Service in Asaba to scare people.
The threat to security was, however, made real once again in Borno State as gunmen killed the Bama Local Council Secretary, Muhammed Salisu, and a university teacher Abubakar Muhammed Salihu.
The Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who reacted to the reported bomb scare in Asaba, disclosed that what was suspected to be an explosive device was only a fetish-like object made to look like a bomb to scare people.
He said that when the police bomb disposal unit checked it there was nothing in the object that could be detonated.
His words: “What was found by the police bomb disposal unit was not a bomb. It was just something put together like a fetish thing that did not have the component of a bomb. Maybe a native doctor tied a few things together to scare people.”
The governor explained that the bomb scare was caused by mischief-makers who had the intention of blackmailing the government, stressing that it was something fetish put together that did not have the components of a bomb.
However, he said that the government and the security agencies in particular were on the alert to ensure that criminal-minded persons would not capitalize on the development to cause havoc in the state.
The governor assured Delta residents that his administration would continue to protect lives and property, explaining that security operatives were carrying out surveillance in the state and would nip any security threat in the bud.
The Commissioner of Police Ikechukwu Aduba confirmed that the device was not a bomb and would not have exploded saying: “It is neither a bomb nor an explosive.”
He observed that the watch on the device was not timed and connected. He advised Delta residents to be security conscious and report any strange object or persons in their vicinity to the police.
But in Maiduguri gunmen killed the Bama Local Council Secretary and an Ekiti university teacher on Monday night.
The killings, according to a resident, occurred in Suluemanti ward of the metropolis, near the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depot, before men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) rushed to the scene to prevent further attacks.
The Police Commissioner in the state, Yuguda Abdullalahi, said yesterday: “The Bama Council Secretary, Muhammed Salisu, and his friend, Barrister Abubakar Muhammed Salihu, a Senior Law lecturer from Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, in South-West Nigeria, were shot dead last night.”
He added: “When the police rushed to the scene, the bodies of the two slain friends were seen lying in the pool of their blood with bullet wounds in their heads, suspected to be fired by armed hoodlums in the area.”
A close family relation to Salisu told The Guardian that the lecturer was in Maiduguri to enroll his 12-year-old son in one of the colleges in Maiduguri.
He said: “This boy came in yesterday and insisted on sleeping in the house of his best friend, the local government secretary. He was supposed to deliver a paper at the Nigeria Law School today in Abuja.”
The bodies of the two have since been taken to Biu town, 187 kilometres south of Maiduguri, for burial, according to Islamic rites.
The Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti (EKSU) was thrown into a mournful mood yesterday following the news of the gruesome murder of the lecturer .
Speaking on the telephone yesterday, the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr. Bunmi Ajibade, said the university community received the sad news with shock. He described the death as “unfortunate”.
He said as soon as the university confirmed the incident, the Vice Chancellor of the school, Prof. Patrick Aina paid a condolence visit to the Dean of the Faculty of Law and the family of the deceased.
Besides, barely 24 hours after the Military Joint Task Force (JTF) recovered a cache of arms and ammunition at a Boko Haram hide-out in Maiduguri metropolis, six gunmen on a tricycle yesterday attacked and set ablaze Gwange III Primary School at about 1.35 p.m.
The suspects, according to a resident, used Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and petrol-bombs in torching four blocks of classrooms, while they fired several gunshots to scare away residents living near the school.
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