Bomb scare in Delta Cabinet Office Complex, Asaba

An objected, suspected to be an improvised explosive device (IED), was on Tuesday planted at the gate of the Delta State Cabinet Office, Asaba, where the office of the state’s Head of Service is located.

An authoritative source in the office  in Asaba said that the device was first noticed by a sanitation worker cleaning the area.

The source said that the sanitation worker alerted the security men in the complex, who in turn alerted some of the senior staff of the office, who had reported early to work.

The source further said that the staff of the office later called in the police and the anti-bomb squad to handle the device, which was covered in a red cloth and had a stop watch fastened to it.

Meanwhile staff of the office, who were too scared to enter into the office premises, summed up courage to go into their offices at about 10 a.m., while some went back to their homes.

Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police in Delta, Mr Ikechukwu Aduba, said that the device was not an explosive device and that the planting of the device in the Cabinet Office was the handiwork of mischief makers.

Aduba, who was in company of the visiting Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police zone V, Alhaji Hashimu Arugungu, took the device to the Government House, where he said that it was only a plot to scare people.

He said that though the device contained gun powder in one of its compartment, it was, however, not connected and the stop watch was not functional.

“It is a mere scare and there is no way this can explode,” said the Commissioner of Police, who addressed newsmen at Government House in the presence of Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan.

Also speaking Uduaghan agreed with the Commissioner of Police that it was an act of mischief makers, but added that they were out to distract the government.

The governor said that the government would not be deterred and would remain focussed, adding that the substance was a fetish substance.

He said that the development was an embarrassment to the people and government of the state and appealed to all to be vigilant, as security was a collective responsibility for all. (NAN)