The Kogi state Government on Tuesday described as misleading the media reports that a bomb explosion occurred at the Ministry of the Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Lokoja, the state capital.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Onogwu Muhammed, in a statement, said there was a distressing call to the police regarding an object that looked like an IED placed on the fence of the ministry opposite Mohammad Buhari Square, Lokoja.
He stated further that the Police were alerted and later confirmed that the object was a plastic bottle and a Can of insecticide wrapped together with a power source to look like an IED.
The governor’s aide said the object was immediately removed by the operatives of Bomb Disposal Unit of the Police.
He said: “The attention of the Kogi State Government has been drawn to a false and misleading publication in the media platforms captioned: “Explosion Rocks Kogi Government Office”. The government is miffed and views this publication as malicious, false, misleading and a calculated attempt to cause panic and undermine the already improved security situation in the state.
“May we, at this point, state the true facts surrounding the incident that actually occurred earlier this morning of 26/07/2022 around the Ministry of the Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, opposite Muhammadu Buhari Civic Centre, Lokoja. There was a distressing call to the police regarding an object that looked like an IED placed on the fence of the ministry of Local government and chieftaincy Affairs, opposite Mohammad Buhari Square,
Lokoja.
“The Bomb Disposal Unit at the Nigerian Police Force Command located a minute away from the scene was immediately deployed to the area. On arrival, they found out that it was a plastic Bottle and a Can of insecticide wrapped together with a power source to look like an IED.
“It was discovered to be a hoax and the object was removed by operatives of Bomb Disposal Unit. However, there was no explosion around any government premises in Lokoja as reported by some media platforms”.
Muhammed also described the report as unprofessional, and called on the people of the state to discountenance it.
“The state government considers the publication as not only unprofessional, but also believes it’s at variance with the ethics of the profession of journalism. For emphasis, we would like to put the record straight that there was no bomb explosion whatsoever in Kogi Government House or offices in Lokoja metropolises.
“The government commends the good people of Kogi for their unalloyed support given to the security agencies in the state and enjoins them to disregard false news as it is capable of causing palpable tension as well as instilling fear in the state while urging them to go about their normal businesses as there is no cause for alarm”, he said.
