Two objects suspected to be Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were yesterday defused by the police anti-bomb squad.
They were reportedly planted in front of the Post Office at Area 10,
Garki, Abuja. The objects were allegedly in a parcel, wrapped and
addressed to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. An
eyewitness said no casualty was recorded. Briefing reporters on the
incident, the Post-Master General (PMG) of the Federation, Ibrahim Mori
Baba, who said the parcel was planted last Friday by a man he described
as insane, could not confirm if it was a bomb. He said he would allow
the security operatives to determine if what was defused was a bomb.The
Post-Master General said: “On Friday, a man came into the post office
premises. We didn’t know whether he was sane or insane. “He wanted to go
inside the post office, but, unfortunately for him, the gate was
locked. He left the so-called parcel at the main gate. I described it as
so-called parcel because there are processes that have to be followed
before a parcel can be accepted. “The processes are that we will weigh
the parcel and determine how much the sender will pay. We will also
examine it in your presence. We will bring out the content to ensure
that what you are about to send is not an explosive. The content of what
you want to send will be shown. “In this case, the man left the parcel
at the gate, went inside, bought stamps and pasted them on it to
indicate that the parcel has gone through the normal process. But it did
not go through the normal process. The man just wanted to deceive
people that he had processed it and we should deliver it. The parcel was
not processed. The police came, examined the parcel and found that it
was a bomb.” Baba alleged that the parcel was addressed to the Minister
of Finance, Mrs. Okonjo- Iweala.
