The Kogi State Government has said it had prior intelligence reports of the explosion that rocked the old palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland close to the Okene reference hospital, one of the legacy projects scheduled for inauguration by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) before his arrival on Thursday.
At least four persons were said to have been killed in the explosion.
The State Security Adviser, Jerry Omadara, told journalists shortly after the incident that the explosion was the handiwork of enemies of progress and some political adversaries of the state.
He also said the deceased driver of the vehicle that exploded was a suspect.
Omadara, however, said intelligence reports already available informed the decision of the government to provide security that frustrated the perpetrators’ plans, thereby, minimising the casualties.
“Unfortunately, in spite of that they, the enemies of progress, still tried to distract President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Kogi by causing that explosion. All the same, the deployment and tight security around didn’t allow them to achieve their aim.
Asked if the explosion could be described as a bomb blast, Omadara said only the experts would determine that, adding that an investigation had commenced work to unravel the mystery around the unfortunate incident.
He said, “This government can authoritatively say that the cause of the blast was solely the act of misguided politicians and people who don’t want anything good for their state. We are aware of some disgruntled politicians celebrating the sad incident that happened today (Thursday) in Okene, where some innocent people lost their lives.
“As a government, we believe that issues of security must concern everyone, and until we all put our hands on the deck, it will affect us in one way or the other. The people who died today are some people’s children, brothers, or relatives, so it must concern all of us,” he said.
The governor’s aide further expressed gladness that the effort of the planners was frustrated and “the visit of our President, Muhammadu Buhari, was very successful as he commissioned several milestone legacy projects of Governor (Yahaya) Bello that had a direct bearing on the lives of the people of the state”.
“Let it be a sound of warning to the disgruntled politicians that Kogi will continue to be on top in the area of security in this country as far as Bello’s administration is concerned. His interest is to have peace in Kogi and nothing can distract him from that. We are suspecting the man that perished in the car is the one who brought the bomb or explosive to disrupt the programme for today (Thursday).
“Already samples have been taken, both human and vehicle parts, and the police and other security agencies investigating the incident will determine what exactly happened. The police and other security agencies will definitely come up with their reports for the public to know. We are not resting on our laurels until the culprits are caught and brought to book. As a government, we sympathise and condole those families that lost their loved ones to the explosion” he added.
