The Benue state Police Command has denied the rumour making the round that a bomb planted opposite the main gate of the police command headquarters in Makurdi was detonated.
There were claims on Thursday, that an Audi 80 saloon car with registration number AQ 740 MKD was bomb-laden and abandoned beside Stanbic IBTC Bank, opposite the main entrance of the Benue state police command.
The assertion caused a lot of panic and anxiety around the said area, even as passers-by and residents alike, were scared refusing to ply the street. Customers of the bank, which is located beside the area, where the bomb was reportedly planted also decline to make transactions with bank.
It was gathered that the police, however pushed the abandoned vehicle away from the scene of the bomb scare into the command headquarters premises, even as it said the car was not bomb-laden.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Daniel Ezeala said that because of the prevailing security challenges in the nation, men of the police anti-bomb squad were quickly deployed to the scene of the incidentwhen the news broke since, according to him, the vehicle was abandoned for so long.
Ezeala said the owner of the vehicle only ran out of fuel and had to abandon the vehicle in search of fuel, which he said created serious suspicion and panic to members of the public. He therefore appealed for calm and assured that the command was working round the clock to ensure that the lives and property of the citizens were protected.?