Police dismiss Abuja bomb scare, heated waste bin

By Ogunsona Samuel and Alaba Alo

The Police Authority in Abuja have dismissed suggestions that a bomb exploded in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) on Wednesday.

There were widespread reports of an explosion in Abuja on Wednesday morning.

But the FCT Police Command said there was no explosion in the Maitama area of the Federal Capital Territory as alleged by residents of the area to engaged the social media to express their fear.

The FCT Police Command in a statement by its Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh made availanble to Irohinoodua linked the explosion to an overheated metal refuse bin.

“The FCT Police Command hereby wishes to update the public on an alleged explosion on at about near a refuse dump outside the Bureau of Public Enterprise premises in Maitama, Abuja,” the police said.

The Abuja police said a rapid response team and members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit was deployed to assess the situation and preliminary findings indicated that an overheated metal refuse container activated under intense heat, exploded, thereby causing injury to two of the refuse evacuator, who are currently receiving medical attention in Maitama General Hospital

“The FCT Police Command urges members of the public to exercise caution and refrain from using metal refuse bins.
Instead, we recommend the use of plastic or rubber containers for waste disposal, as they pose a reduced risk of incidents related to overheated metal refuse containers,” the statement said.