80 football fans escape death as explosion rocks Kaduna

At least 80 football fans have been escaped death as an explosion suspected to be Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) rocked a liquor joint at Kabala West, along the Nnamdi Azikiwe Western bypass in Kaduna South Local Government Area of the state.

It was learnt that the lethal object was sighted when several football fans were watching the League Cup final (Carabao Cup) between Chelsea and Liverpool football teams at about 9.00 pm.

Witness said when the owner of the liquor joint sighted the suspected IED on Sunday, he innocently moved to a nearby mechanic workshop.

Disturbed, the owner of the joint (beer parlour), Mr Larry Nuhu, on Monday, reported the incident to the police who came with bomb-detecting experts and neutralised the object and moved it away to their office.

“I saw the object wrapped in a black bag with a battery connected to it, the kind of battery motorcycle uses. But this morning, the Kaduna State Commissioner of police came with some of his men who are bomb experts and removed the object,” he said.

Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, accompanied with the Garrison Commander, One Mechanized Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna, paid an on-the-spot assessment visit to the scene of the incident on Monday evening.

The commissioner advised the owner of the joint to scale up personal security in the area just as he noted that the state government would continue to beef up security in the state.

While speaking with newsmen, the Owner of the liquor joint, further said: “what happened yesterday (Sunday evening) at 9.30 pm, was that one of my staff rushed to call me and told me that one man came with a bag and suddenly he dropped the bag in the beer parlour and left.

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“It was a black bag and it was opened and I peeped inside and I saw cables there, negative and positive. Thank God I have knowledge of science. So I noticed that it must be something dangerous, though positive and negative were not connected.

“Another thought came into me to move the object from where customers were staying because it might be timed to cause serious damage. But I decided to move it away so that the damage could be minimal if it is timed. I took the risk and threw the bag far from the scene. So this morning I called the JTF who in turn invited the police.

“The bomb experts came and identified it, it was a bomb. They combed the area and told me it was now safe. The Commissioner of police later came and gave me the advice to beef up local security in the area. He also advised that we should not allow anybody with a bag to enter the place.

 “I can estimate that over 70 to 80 people were watching the football match. This is because people were already leaving because the match had come to an end. So some people had earlier left the place.”

Aruwan, later in a statement, called on residents to be vigilant against explosive devices being planted by terrorists in the state.

The advice, he said, became imperative following the explosion which rocked part of the state on Sunday night. He also assured that security operatives were working assiduously to ensure that there was no destruction of lives and property in the state.

Aruwan urged quarry operators in the state to enhance security around their sites and to also ensure that explosives materials were not easily accessible to be carted away for criminal purposes.

“Security agencies are working to ensure that no harm or destruction comes to residents and facilities.

“Citizens are however urged to be alive to this threat, and to remain watchful for suspicious persons loitering, or packages seemingly abandoned in strategic places.

“Increased general awareness is strongly advised, and frequent thorough checks of premises are recommended,” the statement read in part.

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