Nweke Nweke, Awka
Following the explosive which blasted thick Northerners’ populated Kara Market in Ogbaru, Onitsha suburb, Anambra State Tuesday night, residents in Onitsha and its environs has faulted the claims of the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Karma Horsea who claimed it was not bomb blast but was fuel explosion.
Loading ...According to reliable market sources, the blast occurred when a man left an eatery in the market five minutes after.
Said the source, “a man came to the eatery in the market with two jerry cans and dropped one at the entrance to the eatery and the other by his side as he was eating”.
He said, “within two minutes he pretended to be pressed, the young man went out to ease himself andwithin five minutes after he left, one of the jerry cans exploded injuring about many people”.
“The other one did not explode and with the help of some traders it was detonated and removed to a safer place where the police came and picked it away”, he added further.
Contradicting the claims of the State Commissioner of Police in the State, police bombs experts (names withheld) who conducted displayed the already detonated and the blasted empty jerry cans that contained the missiles at Okpoko Police Division, the police bomb experts said they bombs were made of some local materials.
Reacting to the incident, the Sarki of Onitsha, Alhaji Iliyasa Yashau described the blast as unfortunate and commended the security operatives for their prompt intervention.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. JB Kokuma, who was handy after the incident declined to comment on the blast, saying it was too early for the police comment.
Also the Vice Chairman of Nigerian Red Cross Society in the state, Prof. Dr. Peter Katchy cautioned members of the public to be security conscious at all-times even as he advised the residents of the area to engage the services of local vigilance group, aimed at checkmating the coming in and going out of the area.
“We have gone to the hospitals where they are placed under intensive care that include Good News, Chioma and Multicare hospitals”. The Red Cross boss said.
He however stressed the need for security to be beefed up in the market adding that it would help to know the strangers.
“It was a local bomb devise dropped in a crowded local market, the victims in the hospitals are being managed well, they are being taken good care of.
Anambra State has best security system in Nigeria, expanded security. There has not been anything like this before and most of the people who trade and live there should have security to screen strangers” he stated.
Contributing, the Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area, Chief Victor Agolue who arrived the venue of the incident as early as 7am on Wednesday, urged the public to be security conscious and report suspicious movement to the security operatives pledging that the State Government would offset the hospital bills of the victims.
Contacted on the incident, the State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Okechukwu Ali said, “nobody died and the explosion was as a result of fuel in a jerry can kept in the market”. He advised the public to stop keeping inflammable materials like petroleum products in a crowded or residential place”, he stated.
Meanwhile Governor Willie Obiano and Commissioner of Police Mr. Karma Horsea were said to have visited the scene of the incident and the victims in their various Hospitals.
It would be recalled that Kara Market is presently housing large numbers of the commercial sex workers and other notorious persons like the alamajirs .
