There was pandemonium in the Idumota area of Lagos State on Thursday as residents and traders panicked over some materials wrapped in paper bags. The people quickly passed the message that the substances were bombs, which threw the area into confusion.
Eyewitnesses told PUNCH Metro that the substances were discovered at about 10am, a few meters away from the Central Mosque in the area.
They said the possibility of the wrapped substances exploding caused the fear and panic, forcing people to run for safety.
One of them, a trader, who declined mentioning his name, said as a result of the panic, economic activities were paralysed in the area for over an hour.
“It took the intervention of security operatives who came to move the substances away to douse the tension,” he added.
When PUNCH Metro got to the area at about 12.55pm, normality had returned as people could be seen going about their normal businesses.
Many of the residents also declined to speak. However, those who spoke to our correspondent said they later got to know that the information was a mere rumour. Some people were also seen in groups discussing the incident.
PUNCH Metro further observed that security measures were being taken to forestall any breakdown of law and order. Police officers were seen controlling traffic by not allowing moving vehicles to stop or park indiscriminately around the vicinity.
Attempts to speak with some of the men on duty were also unsuccessful as they refused to comment on the issue. The Lagos State Police Spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, confirmed that there was a bomb scare around Tom Jones, Nnamdi Azikiwe Street, in Idumota, Lagos. She added that security experts were swiftly dispatched to the area to arrest the situation.
She said, “When we got the information, we quickly dispatched our security experts to the area. What happened was that people around Tom Jones saw some wrapped packages, which they suspected to be bombs, and they alerted us.
“The police and other security agencies then went to examine the packages, but they turned out not to be bombs.”
They said the possibility of the wrapped substances exploding caused the fear and panic, forcing people to run for safety.
One of them, a trader, who declined mentioning his name, said as a result of the panic, economic activities were paralysed in the area for over an hour.
“It took the intervention of security operatives who came to move the substances away to douse the tension,” he added.
When PUNCH Metro got to the area at about 12.55pm, normality had returned as people could be seen going about their normal businesses.
Many of the residents also declined to speak. However, those who spoke to our correspondent said they later got to know that the information was a mere rumour. Some people were also seen in groups discussing the incident.
PUNCH Metro further observed that security measures were being taken to forestall any breakdown of law and order. Police officers were seen controlling traffic by not allowing moving vehicles to stop or park indiscriminately around the vicinity.
Attempts to speak with some of the men on duty were also unsuccessful as they refused to comment on the issue. The Lagos State Police Spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, confirmed that there was a bomb scare around Tom Jones, Nnamdi Azikiwe Street, in Idumota, Lagos. She added that security experts were swiftly dispatched to the area to arrest the situation.
She said, “When we got the information, we quickly dispatched our security experts to the area. What happened was that people around Tom Jones saw some wrapped packages, which they suspected to be bombs, and they alerted us.
“The police and other security agencies then went to examine the packages, but they turned out not to be bombs.”
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