Abuja bombings: Police comb IDP camps for suspects

There are strong indications that the police are combing camps of the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in Abuja as part of investigations into the multiple blasts that claimed 20 lives in Nyanya and Kuje, two satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory, last Friday.

It was learnt on Sunday that investigators were working on the theory that insurgents might have infiltrated the IDP camps located in different parts of the FCT.

It was gathered that detectives had been dispatched to some of the camps as part of efforts to get to the root of the blasts.

No fewer than 3,000 persons displaced by Boko Haram in the North-East are living in different parts of the FCT, including Durumi, Area one, New Kuchingoro, Games Village, Pegi village, and Kuje.

Sources informed our correspondent on Sunday that the police were not ruling out the possibility that the explosions might have been carried out by terrorists who had been hiding among the displaced persons in the FCT.

A source said, “The bombings could not have been carried out by terrorists from outside Abuja, but by insurgents who have been hiding in the FCT, particularly among the IDPs.

“The police are focusing on the displaced persons because they believe some of them could be Boko Haram sympathisers, who are working for the sect.”

When contacted, the Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, said investigation was ongoing, adding that no arrest had been made.

When asked if investigation was being extended to IDPs, the police spokesperson said she could not disclose the focus of the probe for now.

“Investigation is ongoing and the focus is general, so we cannot specify the focus of the investigation for now,” she said.

A senior security officer stated that the location of IDP camps in FCT was not a wise idea from a security point of view, noting that in other countries, such camps were located very far from the nation’s capital and ran by the military.

He said, “I participated in a peace-keeping mission in Darfur and I can tell you that the closest IDP camp to Khartoum (Sudan’s capital) was about two hours’ drive. No IDP camp was located close to the capital because some of the displaced persons could be terrorists hiding in the camp.”

The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Muhammadu Sani-Sidi, had earlier in June, 2015, branded the IDP camps in FCT as illegal, noting that they were not recognised by his agency.

However, the agency did not take any action to dismantle the camps or make alternative arrangements for resettlement outside the FCT.

Commenting on the blast, a former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Tsav, said security agencies must pay attention to events at IDP camps, noting that some persons there could constitute a security threat.

He said, “What I expected from the police and the Department of State Services is to send some of their personnel to the camps to mingle with the IDPs in order to get information on what is happening.

“During the colonial era, this is how the police got information and intelligence ─ by sending plain-clothes operatives to mix with the people to obtain information. I don’t know why our security agencies find it difficult to do this and obtain critical intelligence to combat the security challenge facing the country.”

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Victims speak on moments before explosions

Lying on his sick bed, Jeffrey Imieh, a victim caught in one of the Abuja bomb explosions on Friday, said despite everything, he thanked God for being alive. Imieh, who is a worker of the Federal Road Safety Corps, told our correspondent on Sunday that he felt encouraged after President Muhammadu Buhari visited them at the National Trauma Centre of the National Hospital, Abuja.

He said, “I see this situation as a call for renewal and wholehearted service to God. One thing that also encouraged me is the visit of the President to victims of the explosions. He stood just right where you are standing now and told me that there was still more in life for me.”

Imieh stated that he was caught up in the second blast at the Kuje Market on Friday.

Another victim of the incident, who was seen crying on his bed at the National Trauma Centre of the National Hospital, Abuja, could not state his name. When asked to give his name, he responded, “I’m still in shock! Please just thank God for me. Just thank God for me.”

It was later gathered that the petty trader who was selling wares to the victim was killed by the explosion. The victim, according to hospital officials, was saved by a whisker, as the explosion pushed him far, damaging one of his limbs.

A suya seller, Muhammadu Lawal, who was a victim of the bombings, said he had strange feelings on the day of the incident.

He said, “When I woke up that Friday morning, I discovered that I was having some feelings that something bad might happen to me. So I prayed to Allah and went out for the day’s business. I am a suya seller in Kuje and our business booms at night. So around 7pm, I started roasting meats for my customers. Not long after that, we heard a loud noise. That was all I could remember. I was told by the nurses here that I was brought here yesterday from Kuje hospital.

“Since I came here, no relation has come to visit me apart from my wife. I sustained serious wounds on my head, my arms, my two laps, and some burns at my back.”

Sulaiman Kusa, a labourer in Kuje said he and his best friend, Hamisu, left home to visit a relative in Kuje.

“Three of us were standing on the road having some discussions. Suddenly, we heard a loud noise that sounded like thunder. My friend was torn into pieces, while my brother and I fell to the ground.

“We couldn’t walk and we were in that position for about an hour before people took us to the hospital. My head, arm and leg were seriously affected. My brother also sustained injuries but he is also recovering fast. I found it difficult to believe that Hamisu is gone,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Spokesperson of NH, Dr. Tayo Haastrup, on Sunday said demand for blood did not imply that there was shortage of blood in the hospital.

He said, “Seventeen patients are with us in the trauma centre and they are all okay.

“We have 12 bodies now, there are no fresh casualties. The seven months old baby we have is very stable.

“We are still asking people to come and donate blood, but not that we are experiencing shortage of blood.”