The Abia State Police Command has responded to a claim made by the Associate Pastor of the United Evangelical Church, Ehere/Umuola, Ogbor Hill, Aba, which has been circulating online, asserting that the command was untruthful in its previous clarification regarding the reported recovery of an explosive device at the church.
In a late Wednesday response from the Commissioner of Police, Danladi Isa, via Police Public Relations Officer Maureen Chinaka, the command reaffirmed its stance that no bomb or explosive was found on the church grounds.
It should be noted that after the Abia State Police Command clarified on Tuesday that no bomb or explosive was found at the United Evangelical Church, Ehere/Umuola, Ogbor Hill, Aba, the church’s Associate Pastor, Eleazar Onyenweaku, challenged the police’s statement.
The pastor labeled the police assertion as untrue and demanded a comprehensive, unbiased inquiry into the issue.
Onyenweaku claimed that a hazardous explosive was uncovered from the surface soil on Friday as workers were excavating the foundation for a new perimeter fence at the church parsonage. He stated that the project adhered to a governmental directive to relocate structures for a current road expansion initiative in the region.
He voiced skepticism regarding the police’s findings, wondering how they were determined without officials inspecting the location.
He said, “Workers, digging carefully to avoid underground water pipes, uncovered a metallic object buried less than a foot deep. Initially mistaken for scrap metal, it was examined more closely after the site engineer cleaned it.
“Having lived in Northern Nigeria, where I had seen explosives before, I immediately recognized it. The safety ring was still intact.”
He mentioned that the object was located close to a plantain stand and that, unable to contact military personnel directly, he hurried to the Ndoki Primary School military base with images.
Onyenweaku stated that a group led by an army captain arrived, verified the hazardous nature of the object, removed it using a Hilux vehicle, and cautioned that there might be more devices hidden in the vicinity.
The pastor justified his choice to contact the military initially by referencing their proficiency in managing explosives compared to police capabilities. He dismissed claims that the device was a remnant from the Nigerian Civil War, pointing out its absence of rust and relatively modern look.
Although he made no accusations, the pastor mentioned that there hadn’t been any recent disputes in the area to justify the presence of an explosive device. He urged Governor Alex Otti to step in by mandating a thorough inspection of the site and enhancing security to alleviate concerns among attendees and local residents.
Elder Andy Amadi and Deacon Obioma Adiele, who supported the pastor’s narrative, stated that agents from the Department of State Services in Umuahia also came to the location for initial investigations and urged the government to take the incident seriously.
Discrediting the associate pastor’s assertions, the police command stated he was “neither an expert nor a trained specialist in bomb detection to inform the public about what defines a bomb or explosive device.”
The commissioner explained that the Divisional Police Officer, Ogbor Hill Division, acting on actionable intelligence, visited the area and met a man identified as Mr. Ezumini, who introduced himself as a member of the United Evangelical Church.
According to Isa, the man told the DPO that what was removed by the military was an iron rod, which formed part of the church’s pillars, removed in compliance with the directive to set back structures for the ongoing road construction.
The CP said the DPO conducted a thorough search of the area and found nothing related to any bomb or explosive. He added that the area commander, accompanied by personnel of the Explosive Ordnance Department, later inspected the vicinity and also found nothing.
“It is also a fact that the police are yet to be formally informed of any alleged recovery,” the statement said.
Isa went on to say that personnel from the Abia State Police Command’s Explosive Ordnance Department were immediately deployed to the area to ensure the protection of people and property.
The commissioner underlined the command’s commitment to its constitutional role of preserving lives and property, stressing that the police are still available to members of the public for collaboration on security issues and encouraging citizens to carry out their legitimate activities.
