Panic In Abuja over reported presence of suspected suicide bombers in Nyanya

Col Sani Usman

Panic gripped residents of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday when a message about the purported arrest of some suspected suicide bombers by soldiers at Nyanya went viral.
As at press time, Army spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, could not be reached for confirmation or otherwise of the report, but residents avoided crowded places, with market women scampering for safety, as some of the motor parks within the suburb became deserted and as intending travelers seemingly postponing their journeys, while passengers were seen waiting for vehicles by the roadside.
Suicide bombing incidents are not new to Nyanya, as bomb explosions in the area in 2014 and last year resulted in the death of commuters at a crowded motor park.
 The message in circulation read: “Please, if you know anybody around Mararaba/Nyanya, tell them not to go close to the market or park for today.
“Soldiers just arrested some suicide bombers along Keffi road now, including children with bombs on their body, and they confessed some already passed earlier before them.”
Until recently, the claim by the Nigerian military that the Boko Haram insurgents had been decimated held water, but recent attacks by the insurgents have left more casualties on the side of the military than usual.
Although the insurgents have been kept away from the seat of power, the Kuje/Nyanya incidents, yesterday’s disrupted activities in the Nyanya-Mararaba axis towards Nasarawa State.
Though calm had returned at press time, but the usually boisterous locations, like the Nyanya under bridge and the Friday Market, were not so active as they used to be.
Security operatives, both in plain clothes and uniformed, were seen patrolling the area, as it is normal on Fridays, but there was a detachment of uniformed soldiers as well.

Source:The Guardian