By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has faulted 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, on Tuesday, attributed the explosion to the operations of suicide bombers which were thwarted by security agents.
It maintained that no fatality was recorded, stressing that those injured had been rushed to the hospital for prompt medical attention.
Wike, however, dismissed NEMA’s position as “incorrect”, adding that the agency is no security outfit.
The minister spoke, on Wednesday, while fielding questions from journalists during the inspection of some road projects lined up for the inauguration to mark President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second year in office
Wike said his position is based on the briefings he got from security agents.
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.”
