The Kogi State government has said that no explosion rocked any of its offices in the State, refuting reports of an alleged explosion in a government officesl.
But residents of the historic town are at a loss over the government and police denials of the explosion, seeking to know where the loud bang that was heard in many parts of the state capital came from.
However, other sources said the loud noise came from the detonation activity of the Police Bomb unit that was called to neutralise the suspicious objects that were found on the fence of a government office.
Meanwhile, Mr Onogwu Mohammed, Chief Press Secretary to the governor in a statement on Tuesday in Lokoja said: “The attention of the Kogi State Government has been drawn to a false and misleading publication in the media platforms captioned: ‘Explosion Rocks Kogi Government Office’.
“The government is miffed and views this publication as malicious, false, misleading and a calculated attempt to cause panic and undermine the already improved security situation in the state.
“May we, at this point, state the true facts surrounding the incident that actually occurred earlier this morning of 26/07/2022 around the Ministry of the Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, opposite Muhammadu Buhari Civic Centre, Lokoja.
“There was a distress call to the police regarding an object that looked like an IED placed on the fence of the ministry of Local government and chieftaincy Affairs, opposite Mohammad Buhari Square,
Lokoja.
“The Bomb Disposal Unit at the Nigerian Police Force Command located a minute away from the scene was immediately deployed to the area.
“On arrival they found out that it was a plastic Bottle and a Can of insecticide wrapped together with a power source to look like an IED. It was discovered to be a hoax and the object was removed by operatives of Bomb Disposal Unit.
“However, there was no explosion around any government premises in Lokoja as reported by some media platforms.
“The state government considers the publication as not only unprofessional but also believes it’s at variance with the ethics of the profession of journalism.
“For the sake of emphasis, we would like to put the record straight that there was no bomb explosion whatsoever in Kogi Government House or offices in Lokoja metropolises.
“The government commends the good people of Kogi for their unalloyed support given to the security agencies in the state and enjoins them to disregard false news as it is capable of causing palpable tension.
“As well as instilling fear in the state while urging them to go about their normal businesses as there is no cause for alarm.”
In a similar statement by its spokesman, the Police denied that its Commissioner in the state confirmed the story of an explosionin Lokoja.
It adds: “On Tuesday 26th of July, 2022 at about 0745hrs The Command received a distress call that there was an object that looked like an IED placed on the fence of the ministry of Local government and chieftaincy Affairs, opposite Mohammad Buhari Square, Lokoja.
“The Bomb Disposal Unit was immediately deployed to the scene. On arrival they found out that it was a plastic Bottle and a Can of insecticide wrapped together with a power sourceto look like an IED. It was discovered to be a hoax and the object was removed by operatives of Bomb Disposal Unit.
“The Command is using this medium to appeal to all media outlets and members of the public to be advocates of peace and to always verify facts of incidents from the Police before publishing stories.”