POLICE DETONATE PARCEL BOMB ADDRESSED TO OKONJO-IWEALA

• CP says no explosion in Abuja

IT looked like one of the mails that pass through the post office.  It bore two stamps that lent it credence.

But a second look, and curiosity was roused.  Both the intended recipient and the contents of the parcel elicited interest.

The parcel was addressed to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and its contents were two suspected Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

The anti-bomb squad of the Nigeria Police on Monday detonated the two IEDs in the parcel that was planted directly in front of the post office in Area 10, Garki, Abuja.

The Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Aderenle Shinaba, said that there was no bomb explosion in any part of the territory. But he admitted that a parcel recovered from the post office was detonated.

Shinaba said that following information received by the command on the object at about 10.00 a.m., men from the Explosive Ordnance Department (EOD) were immediately despatched to the scene.

“The true position is that there is no bomb anywhere in Abuja today (Monday). At about 10 o’ clock this morning, we got information that there is something that is packaged in a carton that looked like a bomb at the gate of NIPOST in Area 10.

“Because of the security situation in the country generally, the people became apprehensive and they were scared, so we have to move in promptly,” he said.

But an eyewitness who spoke to The Guardian said that the parcel was wrapped and addressed to Okonjo-Iweala.

While briefing reporters on the incident, the Post-master General of the Federation, Ibrahim Mori Baba, who disclosed that the said parcel was planted last Friday could not actually confirm if it was a bomb or otherwise.

“The issue is that on Friday, somebody just came, we couldn’t understand whether that person is a sane person or insane and wanted to get to the post office but unfortunately for him, the gate was closed and he couldn’t have access to our building, so he left the so-called parcel.

“I call it so-called parcel because, any parcel that couldn’t get through the process, as there are processes that have to be done and these processes are that we weigh, and then determine how much you will pay and not only weighing it, we also have to examine it in your presence. We will bring out the content to know it, because there must be a disclosure of what you are sending. We will confirm from what you have said.

“In this case, this person brought the parcel here and went ahead and brought in stamps to indicate as if the thing went through our process.

“I want to say that it didn’t go through our process, the man just wanted to camouflage to say that he has already posted it therefore we needed to deliver it. That parcel was not processed.”

The police came and they were able to examine it and eventually there was something suspicious and they found out that it was a bomb.

On the issue of whom the parcel was addressed to, he said: “That is what I was told, it was addressed to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.”

A Nigeria Postal Service official, (name withheld), said that they came to work Monday morning and noticed a funny looking package with two N50 postage stamps on it in front of their premises and notified their boss who promptly invited the anti-bomb squad.

He said: “When the anti-bomb squad came they controlled human movement around the area and went into work with their instruments and after a while we heard an explosion and another explosion followed later.”

He said no injury was sustained as a result of the explosions.

Also, operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) who did not want their name in print told reporters that when they noticed the wrapped object concealed in a bag near the gate of the post office, the place was immediately cordoned before operatives of the Police Anti-Bomb Unit of the FCT Police came in to detonate it at about 10 a.m.

Shinaba stated that in order to avoid a similar incident in Kaduna where an explosion went off and killed a policeman, the anti-bomb squad men had to examine the object first before detonating it.

“It was that noise of detonation that sent down shivers down the spine of most people and rumours flew in the air.

“At the end of the day, what we discovered was a package containing sand as well as tiles, there is nothing to indicate that it has anything to do with any form of explosive. It has nothing to do with Improvised Explosive Device (IED),’’ he said.

Shinaba urged the residents of the FCT as well as foreigners to go about their businesses, saying that there was no cause for alarm.

No other member of the Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) may have gone through as much travail as Okonjo-Iweala, who The Economist in March 2012 called ‘The Iron Lady’ on account of her firm views and passion and infectious enthusiasm towards making sure that things work right in Nigeria.

No stranger to Nigerian politics, having been Finance Minister between 2003 and 2006, she brokered a landmark deal to cancel $12 billion of foreign debt, which made her a star.

But her many detractors soon forgot.

During protests in January last year against the removal of expensive subsidy on fuel which has been thoroughly abused and corrupted, demonstrators focused their anger on her.

The partial removal of petrol subsidy last year triggered a six-day general strike until President Goodluck Jonathan stepped in, reinstating half the subsidy and promising to use the money he saved to help the poor.

Some protesters claimed she was out of touch with realities at home in Nigeria because for many years she was a managing director at the World Bank before coming home last year.

Such allegations she has denied vehemently, saying: “I came because I believe in standing up for something and putting my money where my mouth is.

“Who is willing to come in and get their hands dirty? Who is going to fight this corruption?”

But it was in the kidnap of her 83-year-old mother, Keneme Okonjo last year, which she blamed on indicted oil marketers, that the Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy and the Minister of Finance may have hurt most.

Speaking shortly after her mother was freed by her kidnappers, Okonjo-Iweala said:  “But I can tell you one thing: My mother suffered a great deal during this ordeal. It was only the Almighty God that rescued her from a situation that could very easily have ended tragically.

“Apart from the emotional trauma of being violently taken away from her family and kept incommunicado for five days in a strange environment, a woman of 83 years was left without food for five days. We give glory to God that she is alive today to tell the tale.

“While she was in their custody, the kidnappers spent much of the time harassing her. They told her that I must get on the radio and television and announce my resignation. When she asked why, they told her it was because I did not pay oil subsidy money. They also said I had blocked payment of money to certain components of the SURE-P programme.

“These statements are, of course, not true. In the case of subsidy payments, we have been paying all marketers whose claims have been verified by the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee after going through the necessary processes.

“For marketers whose transactions are proven to be fraudulent, the position of the Jonathan government is also clear: we cannot and we will not pay. We will not back down on this.”

Source: Guardian