NEMA Backtracks On Suicide Bomber Claim After Wike’s Rebuke

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has refuted reports that it attributed the Monday afternoon explosion in Abuja to a suicide bomber.

Recall that NEMA, in a post on its X account, had claimed that the explosion, which occurred at a bus stop opposite the Mogadishu cantonment along the Mararaba-Nyanya expressway, happened when a suicide bomber carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) attempted to sneak into the military barracks.

However, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, contradicted the reports on Wednesday.

Wike said security agencies never said it was a suicide bomber.

“So don’t go and create an impression and put fear in people. NEMA is not the head of security. Security agencies are there,” he said.

Speaking after Wike’s submission, NEMA in a statement, claimed that ... on X was a result of a breach on the platform.

The statement reads, “Emphasizing that its roles in emergencies is to coordinate stakeholders’ response, the Agency noted that the security agencies are responsible for investigating and establishing the cause of such incidents.

“It attributed the unverified social media post to a breach of its platform that is currently being investigated.

“The Agency drew attention to its statement on the incident as released by the Press Unit, which reported NEMA’s coordinating response at the scene of the explosion with no reference whatsoever to the cause of the incident, which is the remit of the Nigeria Police and other security agencies.”