BREAKING NEWS: Explosion Rocks Abuja Outskirt, Residents Panic

A loud explosion occurred on Thursday morning in Kurudu, a community on the outskirts of Abuja.
The cause of the explosion is still unclear as a resident said it could have been caused by a bomb or dynamites used in blasting rocks in the area.
The explosion has caused panic in Kurudu, Jikoyi and other adjoining areas as residents scampered for safety.

A resident of an Army Estate in Kurudu, told PREMIUM TIMES that soldiers simply locked the gate and prevented anyone from going out upon hearing the loud explosion.

Details coming...

Source:
Premium Times

Bomb Scare in Kubwa, Abuja Cause Panic

The Police in Kubwa, one of the most populated  satellite towns in Abuja, yesterday afternoon, foiled a bomb attack by suspected Boko Haram members as residents, market women scampered for safety.

A Volkswagon Golf car filled with gas cylinders and jerrycans of petrol was said to have been parked near ElRufai Bus Stop by Channel 8 Junction in Kubwa around 7 AM yesterday morning, Vanguard learnt.
According to eye witnesses, many residents and passersby took to their heels upon noticing the car which they suspected could have been parked to bomb the area. Eventually the area was cordoned off by the police anti-bomb squad  invited by the Chief Imam of Kubwa Central Mosque,  Sheikh Abdulmumini Ahmad Khalid and other residents of the area.

The Spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command, DSP Altine Daniel told newsmen later, however, that no explosive device was found in the said car. She said the vehicle had been towed by the police of the Kubwa Division, noting that the owner of the vehicle could be a cylinder seller who left the vehicle there after it might have developed a fault.

Daniel further addd that the Commissioner of Police for the FCT, Joseph Mbu had ordered all abandoned vehicles in the area to be scanned.  The Divisional Police Officer, DPO, of the police Zonal Command Headquarters, Phase 4, Agabi Godiri said that normalcy had returned to the area.

Source:
Vanguard Newspaper

Suspected Nyanya Bombing Mastermind, Aminu Ogwuche, Arrested In Sudan

A suspected mastermind of the Nyanya bomb blasts, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, who was on Tuesday declared wanted by the Department of State Services, DSS, and subsequently placed on the international police (Interpol) red alert, has been arrested in faraway Sudan.

The first Nyanya bombing of April 14 left no fewer than 100 people dead and scores more injured. The second killed over 30 and wounded scores of people.

The coordinator of the National Information Centre and director-general of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Mike Omeri, made the arrest known yesterday during a media briefing on the efforts to rescue the abducted Chibok girls.

“Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche has been arrested for his involvement in the Nyanya bombing of April 14. The efforts of the Interpol and the Nigeria Police have led to his arrest in Sudan,” he said.

The deputy director, DSS, Marylin Ogar, in her remarks stated that the suspect had been apprehended in the Sudan and that efforts were being made to bring him back to the country to face justice.

The UK-born Ogwuche, a former lance corporal in the Nigerian Army with Service No. SVC 95/ 104 alongside Rufai Abubakar Tsiga allegedly masterminded the April 14 Nyanya bomb blast.

According to security sources, Ogwuche, the son of a retired colonel in the Nigerian Army, Agene Ogwuche, served in the intelligence unit of the Nigerian Army at Child Avenue, Arakan Barracks in Lagos, between 2001 and 2006. Following his deployment to the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, in 2006, Ogwuche deserted the army.

He was arrested on November 12, 2011, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his arrival from the United Kingdom for suspected involvement in terrorism-related activities but was released to his father on October 15, 2012, following intense pressure from human rights activists who alleged rights’ violation.

An indigene of Orokam, Ogbadibo LGA, Benue State, Ogwuche studied Arabic Language at the International University of Africa, Sudan.

The SSS had earlier announced a N25 million reward for anyone with information on the wanted suspect.

Meanwhile, LEADERSHIP could not confirm whether Col. Abubakar Sadiq Ogwuche (rtd), the chief security officer of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, is the biological father or a relation of the suspected terrorist.

When our correspondent visited Col. Ogwuche’s office at ABU, he could not meet him. He was said to have travelled to Kaduna for an undisclosed reason.

Several efforts to contact him, including placing many calls to his GSM telephone number, did not yield positive results.

Though Col. Oguche could not also respond to text messages sent to his GSM number as at the time of filing this report, associates told LEADERSHIP that the suspected bomber is a biological son of the ABU’s chief security officer.

“I can confirm to you that Aminu is his son; there is nothing to hide there,” said a source. The management of the ABU kept mum during our correspondent’s inquiry.

LEADERSHIP also learnt that the suspected terrorist’s mother is a Fulani.

Source:
Leadership Newspaper

Another Bomb Blast Hits Abuja, Many Feared Dead

A car bomb attack has killed at least 19 people and injured 60 more in the Nigerian capital Abuja, officials say.

The explosion happened in the suburb of Nyanya, close to a motor park where at least 70 people died in a bomb blast on 14 April.

Witnesses said the explosion targeted a police checkpoint near a bus station.

No group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack. The Islamist militant group Boko Haram said it was behind the fatal explosion last month.

The BBC's Will Ross in Abuja says Nyanya is a religiously mixed area and it is not clear why the area has been targeted.

Charles Osueke, who was in the area at the time of the blast, told the BBC that it was just 200m (650ft) away from the 14 April explosion.

"People in the crowd were saying that a man parked his car, walked away and the next thing they know, the car blew up," he said.

There was heavy traffic on the road at the time of the blast, with many commuters waiting for buses

"I'm worried about our security here. After the last explosion the president said he would increase security," Mr Osueke added.

"There were policemen around when this explosion happened and they didn't manage to stop it."

The head of Nigeria's Emergency Management Agency, Abbas Idriss, told the BBC that 19 people were killed in the blast and 60 others were injured.

The latest attack comes just days before Abuja is set to host the World Economic Forum on Africa after becoming the continent's biggest economy last month.

Insecurity will be a major concern with several world leaders, including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, due to attend the event.

Correspondents say the blast comes at a terrible time for Nigeria, which is also dealing with the abduction of 230 schoolgirls that happened hours after the previous Nyanya attack.

Source:
BBC

More than 71 People Confirmed Dead, Hundreds Injured Aftermath of Abuja (Nyanya) Bomb Blast

Abuja:
A blast at a Bus Station in Nyanya, an outskirt of the Nigerian capital Abuja during a Monday morning rush hour killed at least 71 people and 140 injured.

A Reuters cameraman saw 20 bodies at the depot at Nyanyan bridge, around 8 km (5 miles) south of Abuja, and two witnesses said another 15 had already been removed by the emergency services.

"I was waiting to get on a bus when I heard a deafening explosion then smoke. People were running around in panic," said Mimi Daniels, who works in Abuja. Another blast followed, she said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but suspicion is likely to fall on Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The Islamists have been waging an increasingly bloody insurgency in the northeast.

Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 60 people in an attack on a village in northeast Nigeria late last week. Eight people were killed in a separate attack at a teacher training college, witnesses said.

Source:
Reuters