•Boko Haram hits Force Headquarters, Abuja…two killed, 35 cars burnt, scores injured

Posted by admin Latest Politics, Nigerian Police, Top Stories Friday, June 17th, 2011

Forty eight hours after giving conditions for ceasefire, Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, yesterday bombed the Louis Edet House, Force Headquarters of the police in Abuja. The attack claimed two lives with about 35 vehicles destroyed in the incident that occurred at 10.58 am. The Police High command confirmed the casualty figure. The victims, according to reports, the suicide bomber and the traffic warden who directed him to use the car park in the vicinity.

The bomber allegedly infiltrated the convoy of a Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), whose identity cannot be ascertained at Press time. The incident came a day after members of the militant group vowed to carry out fiercer and wider attacks, claiming its men who had trained in Somalia had arrived the country. Somalia, is known to be a haven for the dreaded Al Qaeda network in Africa. Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim had earlier in the week declared war on Boko Haram.

According to witnesses, the explosive device was detonated at the main car park close to the entry gate in a Mercedes Benz 230 V-Boot which consumed the lone occupant of the vehicle. The other victim was identified as a traffic warden, who reportedly attempted to divert the vehicle from where it was heading within the vicinity. Sources hinted that the car in which the bomb exploded was closely followed by a Honda Accord car, believed to be used by the perpetrators of the act. It could, however, not be confirmed if the occupant of the Honda car died, or sustained injuries.

Daily Sun learnt that the police authorities had received an intelligence report on a plot to bomb the Force Headquarters two days before the incident. It was further gathered that the attack by persons suspected to be Boko Haram sect who felt challenged by recent comments allegedly made by the Police High Command.

Meanwhile, the driver of the car in which the bomb was allegedly planted was said to have driven into the headquarters and headed straight to the parking lot of the (DIG) before he was intercepted by a traffic warden and directed to the general car park. Daily Sun sources also said the car came in the convoy and parked behind IGP’s car before one of the IGP’s aides asked the traffic warden at the IGP’s car park to direct the driver to the main car park
Sources also disclosed that the occupant of the vehicle died along with the traffic warden. Speaking with journalists, Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Olushola Amore said only two people were confirmed dead (the driver and the traffic warden), while 35 vehicles were damaged beyond repairs.

According to the Police spokesman, the driver of the Mercedes Benz car was a suicide bomber and blamed the attack on Boko Haram. It would be recalled that the sect had hinted that they have members in all the security agencies in the country. The sect, Daily Sun learnt, had in a letter written to President Goodluck Jonathan in Arabic declined invitation for dialogue, saying, the decision was prompted by a statement credited to the IG and the Borno State governor.

The sect, therefore, vowed to cause more mayhem in the northern states and the FCT and advice civilians to stay away from public places. The group, which said the attacks would not be targeted at the ordinary Nigerians however, hinted they had imported mercenaries from Sudan for the operations. Amore said the charred body of the driver had been recovered and DNA would be conducted on it.

Meanwhile, men of the State Security Service (SSS) had before the incident said the agency was on top of the security situation in the country. Its spokesperson, Merylyn Ogar had blamed the spate of bombings across the country on past political leaders, adding, by the time the Service reveals their identities, Nigerians would be surprised.
Featuring in an interview programme, Sunrise Daily on a local television station in Lagos yesterday, Ogar who was short of mentioning names, accused the past political leaders of deliberately undermining the Federal Government. “They believe they should be in power and once they are not there, then they would have to discredit the government.”

Warning that the SSS would soon clamp down on the perpetrators of bombings, she explained that the Service had privileged information on some of the plans by the bombers. She, therefore, urged members of the public to be circumspect of their neighbours and other people around them, advising that they should always alert security agencies once they notice strange faces or suspicious movements in their areas.wp_posts