From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna
Pandemonium broke out yesterday at the new Niger state Secretariat called Abdulkareem Lafene Secretariat, opposite the Niger state House of Assembly, as the state’s civil servants, visitors and others ran for safety following the discovery of an object suspected to be an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
Findings revealed that the object, a container filled with dirty materials, was said to have been placed upside down on the way leading to the block occupied by the state’s Head of Service (HoS) among other top government offices.
Our correspondent gathered that upon sighting the object, people were scared and took to their heels shouting: ‘Bomb! Bomb!! Bomb!!!’ after which members of the Niger state police command were immediately contacted.
The anti-bomb squad, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Emmanuel Olokor, was dispatched to the scene to detonate the object only to discover that it was not a bomb as feared.
The police boss later held the object up and threw away the contents after which he assured the on-lookers that the object was not a bomb as earlier suspected.
Olokor thereafter advised residents to go about their lawful duties without any fear just as he described the development as a mere hoax.
