Police speaks on explosion at PDP secretariat

The Rivers State Police Command, on Thursday, debunked the news of twin explosion at the Rivers State secretariat of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Aba Road in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The command’s spokesman, Nnamdi Omoni, who made the denial in Port Harcourt, claimed that no explosion rocked the state secretariat of PDP, saying that officers and men of the command that were sent to the scene did not see anything at the place to suggest explosion had earlier occurred.

The police stance, however, contradicted the account of a chieftain of the PDP in Rivers State, who did not want his name in print, but who was at the secretariat when the explosion occurred.

The PDP stalwart said that the explosions sounded like fireworks, commonly known as ‘knockout or banger”, adding that the explosion took place about 100 metres away from Rivers State Secretariat of the PDP.

Omoni, while reacting to the question on whether anybody had been arrested over the explosion at Rivers secretariat of the PDP, said: “I am not aware of what you are talking about. If you have been to the Rivers State Secretariat of PDP in Port Harcourt, you would have known that nothing happened there. No explosion took place at the party’s secretariat.”

According to the Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, “When the explosion rumour was spreading, we (Rivers State Police Command headquarters) sent our men to the place (Rivers State Secretariat of PDP in Port Harcourt), they came back in no time saying that nothing happened there.”

But the Nigerian Tribune source, who spoke in confidence, volunteered: “I was present at the Rivers State Secretariat of PDP on Aba Road, Port Harcourt when the explosion occurred. It was not at the state secretariat of PDP, as claimed by some news stories that I read online.

“Moreover, it did not sound like a dynamite, but more like a knockout (banger). The sound went off twice, but if it was a strong explosive, the vehicles parked around Rivers State Secretariat of PDP in Port Harcourt would have been burnt or badly damaged, while houses in the neighbourhood, including the imposing secretariat of PDP would have been destroyed, but no impact whatsoever was made, except for the sound that scared people around to scamper to safety, and still returned the next moment”, the source added

He further disclosed that the secretariat was a beehive of activities, with human and vehicular movements on the increase, following the party’s councillorship primary election materials’ distribution that was ongoing at the venue, as at the time of the incident.

The PDP chieftain guessed that the bomb scare could be linked to some jittery politicians whom he claimed were already afraid of losing before the commencement of the contest, and decided to scare people away from the venue of the primaries.

The source added that party members across the 23 local governments areas of the state had earlier expressed displeasure over the way things were being done by some leaders of the party in the state, stressing that the explosion scare could be one of the ways of ventilating their frustrations and displeasure.