The Niger State Police Command stated it discovered a massive cache of explosive devices, including bombs and improvised explosive devices, buried throughout the state.
Although an inquiry is underway to determine the origins of the explosive devices, they are believed to have been hidden by terrorists and bandits who have been creating havoc in various local governments around the state.
These devices were discovered in several local governments, including Galadima-Kogo in Shiroro LGA, Mutun-Daya in Munya LGA, and the Gbeganu Area in Minna.
The command spokesman, Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement on Tuesday, said the results were the handiwork of counter-insurgency operations performed from 2021 to 2023, as well as a collaborative effort including the police and other security agencies.
According to Abiodun, the explosives were neutralised on August 22, 2024, at a site behind Zuma Rock in Suleja, under the supervision of SP Mohammed Mamun, the Officer in Charge of the Command’s EOD-CBRN (Explosive Ordinance Disposal—Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) Unit.
“In furtherance to the efforts of the Niger State Police Command to ensure a more safe and secure environment in the state, the Commissioner of Police, Shawulu Danmamman, directs for the destruction of improvised explosive devices/bombs recovered from different locations during multiple counter-insurgency operations with other security agencies in the state between 2021 and 2023.
“The items include four pipe-borne IEDs buried in the ground recovered at Galadima-Kogo, Shiroro LGA, on September 27, 2021; explosives concealed in empty shells of suspected military missiles and a 5 kg cooking gas cylinder recovered at Mutun-Daya, Shiroro LGA, on February 11, 2022; Explosives concealed in a 10-litre jerrycan; three pieces of suspected military hand grenades; and a bow-shaped improvised material recovered at the Gbeganu area of Minna on October 24, 2023.
“The successful destruction took place on August 22, 2024, at a location behind Zuma Rock, Suleja, led by the Officer in Charge of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal—Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Unit of the Command, SP Mohammed Mamun,” Abiodun stated.
This development comes just a week after suspected bandits carried out a savage attack that killed 13 farmers in the state.
Remember that Galadima-Kogo in Shiroro LGA was the scene of a devastating bomb explosion in 2022, which resulted in the tragic deaths of officers from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.
