Suicide Bomber Report In Ebonyi State, Branded Fake News By Authorities

It appears an initial report claiming that a middle-aged man blew himself up near a school in Ebonyi State is untrue. The Ebonyi State Police Command denied reports and explained that the explosion was caused by something else.

Per reports, spokesperson Loveth Odah said that it was a police officer who was killed by an explosive device that was initially suspected to be a hand grenade. The officer was identified as Idi Aminu who mistakenly hit the device after which it went off.

Odah stressed that the explosion was an accident and that the public should not panic. Aside from the police representative, Governor David Umahi backed up the report and cautioned everyone not to be misled by fake news.

“The above news is in sharp contrast to the reality as the incident was a grenade of a security personnel carrying out his duties at the said location that accidentally exploded. A similar incident equally occurred in front of the Ebonyi State Old Government House as some mobile police officers were servicing their APC machine. The first incident took the life of a passerby while the second caused injuries on the affected person, who has been taken to the hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment,” read a statement from Umahi through his Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze.

This addresses earlier reports that a middle-aged man was wandering around the Ebonyi State area and blew himself up. It was not mentioned in that report if there were casualties.

One resident alleged that the incident happened close to the Eke Market in Afikpo, the biggest market in the area. Before that, the man was seen wandering the area and initially went into the beer parlor. When asked to identify himself, the man left.

From there, the man moved to campus 2 of Amaizu/Amangbala primary school in Afikpo LGA of Ebonyi state. When he was asked by a guard on duty asked him to back off, the bomber removed his clothes after which an explosion was triggered. After that, bystanders went to check what had just happened. It was there where they saw the middle-aged man lifeless and bloody.