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Ebonyi explosion caused by grenade mishandling, not suicide bomber – Police

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The Police Command has denied an earlier report linking the blast in the Afikpo area of Ebonyi, where a man was alleged to have exploded on Tuesday, to a suicide bomber.

Recall that an eyewitness reported seeing the man running around in panic mode before the incident occurred at about 10.00 am.

“He made an attempt to enter the Amaizu/Amangballa Primary School, but he was turned back by the school security men because he couldn’t explain his reason for visiting. He immediately started running to a nearby bush before a big bang was heard,” the source stated.

The source said residents ran helter-skelter when the bomb exploded, but reconvened at the scene a few minutes later only to discover the man’s corpse in a pool of his own blood.

But a spokesperson for the command, Loveth Odah who confirmed the incident said the victim involved in the explosion was a policeman on duty in the area and not a suicide bomber as widely speculated.

Odah stated that the policeman was a riot policeman on special deployment in the Afikpo North Local Government Area of the state.

She also disclosed that the cop, Idi Aminu, died as a result of an accidental hand grenade explosion.

The PUNCH reported that the incident, which occurred opposite the Amizi Amangbala Primary School and the popular Eke Market in Afikpo, threw the residents into panic as passers-by ran helter-skelter.

Residents had speculated that the deceased was a suicide bomber, but Odah said he was an inspector of police.

“He mistakenly hit the lead of his grenade, which was hanging on his waist, with his elbow, resulting in the deadly explosion,” she stated.

She noted that the police officer served in the MOPOL 32 and was not a suicide bomber as widely circulated on social media and other platforms.

Odah said his remains had been evacuated to a mortuary.

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