The Niger State Police Command said it has uncovered a large cache of explosive devices buried in multiple locations in the state.
According to the Command’s spokesman, Wasiu Abiodun, who released a statement on the development on Tuesday, although an investigation is going on to unravel the sources of the explosive devices, they are suspected to have been concealed by terrorists and bandits who have been wreaking havoc in several local governments in the state.
He said the findings were the handiwork of counter-insurgency operations conducted from 2021 to 2023 and collaborative efforts involving the police and other security agencies in the state.
The items include: 4 pipe-borne IEDs buried in the ground recovered at Galadima-Kogo, Shiroro LGA on 27th September 2021; explosives concealed in empty shells of suspected military missiles and a 5kg cooking gas cylinder recovered at Mutun-Daya, Shiroro LGA on 11th February 2022; explosives concealed in a ten-litre jerrican, 3 pieces of suspected military hand grenades and a bow-shaped improvised material recovered at Gbeganu area of Minna on 24th October 2023.
The Police spokesman revealed that the explosives were neutralized on August 22, 2024, at a site located behind Zuma Rock in Suleja, under the supervision of SP Mohammed Mamun, the Officer in Charge of the EOD-CBRN (Explosive Ordinance Disposal – Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) Unit of the Command.
This development comes barely a week after suspected bandits carried out a ruthless attack, killing no fewer than 13 farmers in the state.
It will be recalled also that Galadima-Kogo in Shiroro LGA was the site of a catastrophic bomb explosion in 2022, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of officers from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
