The death toll arising from the Workers’ Day bombing in Nyanya, Abuja, has hit 19 according to information from the Police, while 60 others are reportedly injured and receiving treatment.
Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Frank Mba, yesterday in Abuja in company of the Assistant Director Public Affairs of the Department of State Services (DSS), Marilyn Ogar, and an official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), confirmed the figure but also hinted that six other victims beside the 60, who suffered various injuries as a result of the blast were treated and already discharged from the hospital.
Mba had given a casualty figure of 12 dead and 19 wounded on Thursday, a few hours after the explosion occurred, a figure he, however, described as “provisional”, considering the time. But after a thorough check, he arrived at the new figure, for now.
He said the security challenge could only be overcome with the cooperation of the public as the threat was to everyone.
“Investigations are ongoing and we appeal to the citizens to rally round the security forces at this critical point in our history. It will take the unity of all of us to defeat terror,” he said.
The FPRO also said three unexploded Improvise Explosive Devices (IEDs) were recovered at the scene of the blast, but have been rendered innocuous by the security’s anti-bomb squad.
When asked if arrests have been made by the operatives, the Force spokesperson said it was too early to make the information public, adding: “I will not speak at this stage on ongoing investigations, but investigations are ongoing and we will give facts when it is right to do so.”
Also lending her voice, Ogar appealed to Nigerians to be calm and give information to scurity agencies for better services. She said: “We must take our security into our hands because the security agencies cannot do it all alone, it must be collective.
“The call here is for all Nigerians to rally round security agencies; it is not a time to say they (security) are not doing what they are supposed to do.
“The number of security personnel in the country is very small compared to the population; rally round us through information, no information is useless,” she said.
Spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Sanni Datti, also confirmed the figure, adding that those who suffered various degrees of injuries were receiving treatment in various hospitals in the metropolis. He also confirmed that six persons had been treated and discharged, making the total number of affected persons 85.
Another statement by the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said the agency got to the scene of the blast at 7.20pm after receiving a call from the emergency control room.
The statement signed by the Head of Public Relations, Josie Mudasiru, said the explosion took place at Motor Park-cum-market at about 7.10pm “and FEMA assisted in evacuation of affected persons to various hospitals in the city.”
