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'We Were Sent'- Arrested Lagos Airport Bomber

Published

10 years ago

August 20, 2014

The suspected bomber caught by security agents at the National Airport Management Authority (NAMA) annex in Lagos yesterday, August 18 has reportedly confessed that he was sent along with other Boko Haram members to bomb various parts of the city.
The 22-year-old physically challenged man who was apprehended with canisters secured around his body and neck, that police say were explosives he was about to detonate, disclosed that his two other colleagues were assigned the task of bombing Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), as well as the densely populated Lagos Island and Apapa areas of the megacity, This Day reports.
When quizzed by security officials, he confessed that he was recruited alongside several others from Niger republic and they were trained extensively before their deployment.
According to a security official who pleaded anonymity, the suspected bomber would have succeeded in his attempt but for the inability of the explosives to detonate when they were supposed to.
Another source from the state security department said investigations had kicked off in full gear to round up other suspects who were said to have been deployed to wreak havoc in the state.
Also speaking on the matter, senior security official with one of the aviation agencies dismissed initial statement from the police that the suspect was a lunatic, saying he was sent by somebody on a mission.
“I don’t think that the suspect is a lunatic. If the police say that he is a lunatic let them prove that he is one. From my own assessment, the suspect was on a mission; he was sent by somebody, but the police have not given us more information. I went to see him and the young man spoke both in English and in Hausa. The police said they should be given time to investigate the suspected devices, so let me give them time,” the official said.
The dreaded Boko Haram have been wreaking havoc across the nation especially in the northern region, killing many while also rendering others homeless.
On June 25, there was an explosion in Apapa area of Lagos, claiming no fewer than five lives. Although the spokesperson of the Lagos police, Ngozi Braide, confirmed the blast, but stated clearly that it was a tanker blastwith many Nigerians doubting the state’s explanation.