Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has contradicted the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on the cause of the explosion that occurred in front of the Mogadishu military barracks in Abuja, on Monday.
The agency had said the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber.
But responding to questions from journalists during the inspection of some road projects lined up for commissioning to mark President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second year in office, Wike said the briefings he got on the issue shows that NEMA position is incorrect.
The minister 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.”
It was reported that it was an explosion near a checkpoint opposite the Mogadishu barracks in Abuja.
A man was reportedly killed during the incident.
While NEMA revealed the outcome of its findings, but both the military and the police are yet to disclose the cause of the incident, saying investigation is ongoing.