Pandemonium in Aba over bomb scare

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi  with agency report

Tension rose in the commercial city of Aba, the Abia state capital yesterday, following the discovery of an object suspected to be bomb at the River Layout area of the city.

It was reported that the tension in the area started when a middle aged man (name withheld) found a sealed object lying under a car parked in front of Royal Rock Church on Rivers Layout by East Street.

Residents, immediately after, raised an alarm, a situation which attracted the Police Anti-Bomb unit to the area.

A resident of the area, who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity, said the Anti-Bomb police cordoned off the area and ordered residents within to vacate their houses while they went round to inspect the object.

“It was around noon, a neighbour spotted an object which looks like a bomb and raised an alarm. There was confusion everywhere; people were running helter – skelter. Some body later invited the police who came and cordoned off the area” a source revealed. “Besides, movements in and out of the area were restricted by the policemen who asked the residents to leave their houses. Some policemen went to the spot where the object was, while others kept watch until they finally picked the item out”, an eyewitness said.

Another resident of the area who simply identified himself as Junior, explained that before the police arrived, the residents suspected that the bomb might have been planted by the ‘gateman’.

The Abia state Police Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Geoffrey Ogbonna, when contacted, confirmed the incident and disclosed the object was not bomb as speculated.