Contrary to reports by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has stated that the recent explosion near the Mogadishu military barracks in Abuja was not caused by a suicide bomber.
Wike, who described NEMA as a non-security agency, dismissed the agency’s claim as misleading and misinforming, adding that such narratives could instill fear in residents and discourage visitors who might believe the nation’s capital is plagued by insecurity.
The minister denounced NEMA’s report during an inspection tour of road projects scheduled for commissioning as part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second anniversary in office, describing the agency’s findings as inaccurate and misleading.
“The security never said it was a suicide bomber,” Wike told journalists. “So don’t go and create an impression and put fear in people. NEMA is not the head of security. Security agencies are there.”
The former Rivers State governor clarified that the explosion was caused by an individual who allegedly mishandled explosives retrieved from a quarry site.
“What happened was that there was somebody who went to where we have these quarries, where they blast all these rocks.
The person took the explosive and put it in his pocket. Of course, some of them may not even understand the implication of that, and so, it exploded on him,” Wike explained.
“So that does not mean that it is a suicide bomber. We should be careful in the stories we are planting; let’s not send the wrong message to the residents,” he added.
NEMA had earlier attributed the blast to a suicide bomber—a statement that sparked widespread concern among residents.
The incident, which occurred near a checkpoint opposite the Mogadishu barracks, reportedly claimed the life of one man.
While NEMA publicly released its findings identifying the blast as a suicide bombing, both the military and police have remained silent on the specifics, stating only that investigations are ongoing.
Wike’s comments have added a new layer of complexity to the narrative, as residents await an official statement from the security agencies.
As it stands, the cause of the explosion remains officially inconclusive, with conflicting accounts from emergency and government authorities deepening the uncertainty surrounding the incident.
