Bomb scare in Delta Cabinet Office Complex, Asaba

THERE was panic, yesterday, at the Cabinet Office, Asaba, Delta State, where the office of the Head of Service is situated, following a bomb scare.

Workers who reported for duty ran out of their offices on discovery of a strange object which looked like a bomb placed at the gate.

Incidentally, the Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG zone 5, Mr. Hashimu  Argungu, was in Asaba on an official visit at the time.

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Explosive denoted by police at the Head of Service complex Asaba, Delta state today [photo Nath Onojake]

The office complex, which is close to Government House and the Governor’s official lodge as well as the state Police headquarters, was immediately cordoned off, while anti-bomb experts moved in and combed the area.

Although police, after removing the strange object, assured the panic-stricken workers gathered far away from the scene to return as the complex had been certified  free from risk of bombing, some of them were reluctant to go in while others sneaked back to their homes.

The suspected object was later taken to Government House, where the visiting AIG was paying a courtesy visit to the governor.

The object which looked like a bomb with a wrist watch attached to it had wiring connections round it and looked like an explosive device.

Addressing reporters at Government House while displaying the object, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, said: “This is just a prank to draw unnecessary attention. As far as we are concerned, this is nothing. It is perhaps the handiwork of our enemies who are trying to bring down the government.”

Also speaking, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, said: “From the Commissioner of Police and the anti-bomb expert, there is no way this thing would have exploded because it was not an explosive device.”