It was a shocking discovery at the Umuoma Autonomous Community in
Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State at the weekend when
indigenes uncovered an undetonated bomb buried in a family compound
since the civil war years.
The bomb, suspected to have been laid during the civil war, was
buried deep in the soil in one Igbokwe’s compound at Ukwo-Umuoma.
A police source told National Mirror that the bomb was uncovered
after several days of rainfall that washed away the top soil, exposing
the edge of the bomb suspected to have been buried for over 40 years.
It was not clear whether the bomb was laid by the Nigerian troops or
their Biafran counterparts, but a source said the area was the base of
Biafran troops when Owerri sector fell to Federal troops during the war.
Some children were playing in the compound after the rain when one of
them observed “a strange object”
buried in the soil with a part of it
revealed, one of the villagers told our correspondent.
According to the source; “The people in the compound did not know
that they have been living with a destructive weapon for over 40 years.”
It was learnt that on discovery, the people raised the alarm which
attracted passers-by who on close examination suspected it to be an
explosive, before they reported the matter at a nearby police station. A
police source said that the Anti-Bomb Squad of State Police Command was
contacted to detonate the bomb.
“The police bomb experts detonated the bomb at a nearby bush,” the
police source said. When the state Police Public Relations Officer, Joy
Elemoko, was contacted, she confirmed the incident.
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