Police Confirm Kogi Explosion As Kogi Govt Blames Incident On Suspected Thugs

The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed the explosion that blew up the Okehi Local Government Secretariat Complex in Kogi State on Monday.

According to the command, preliminary findings have shown that no casualty was recorded as a result of the proactive measures anchored on the state’s iron-cast security architecture.

Naija News reported earlier that there was a commotion on Monday evening in the Okehi Local Government Area (LGA) of Kogi State after some unknown gunmen suspected to be terrorists reportedly blew off the administrative offices in the area.

According to SaharaReporters, the attacked building is close to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) facility in the local government area.

It could be recalled that the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, had claimed responsibility for several attacks in the state recently.

However, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP William Aya while confirming the incident to pressmen on Tuesday in Lokoja, the state capital condemned the act noting that the command is on top of the situation.

He said the explosion affected a section of Complex security agencies that have been charged to unravel the masterminds of the attack.

While calling for calm in the local government area, the Commissioner for Information and Communications in the state, Kingsley Fanwo, in a statement on Tuesday said the government was on top of the situation but parents should appropriately guide their wards against being used as tools for political thugs in the forthcoming elections.

Fanwo noted that the “Government will be unsparingly decisive in dealing with issues of political thuggery before, during, and after the elections.”

According to him, “The Kogi State Government condemns in the strongest of terms, the attack in the Okehi Local Government Area that affected a section of the Okehi Local Government Secretariat Complex. It is an act of cowardice that will continue to fail in the attempt by enemies of the people to compromise the peace and security we enjoy in Kogi State.

“We wish to call on residents of Okehi Local Government Area and indeed the entire Kogi Central Senatorial District to remain calm as Government is on top of the situation and further measures have been immediately deployed to keep them safe before, during, and after the elections. This is our responsibility to all Kogites irrespective of their political affiliations. Those behind this will be fished out and severely dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others in their league.

“Preliminary findings have shown that no casualty was recorded as a result of the proactive measures anchored on our iron-cast security architecture. Security agencies have been charged to unravel the masterminds of the attack and we assure our people that those behind such a dastardly act will not be spared from justice.

“We call on parents to properly guide their wards against being used as political thugs in the forthcoming elections as Government will be unsparingly decisive in dealing with issues of political thuggery before, during, and after the elections.

“We urge the people of Okehi and the entire Kogi Central to go about their normal businesses as Government has put machinery in place to guarantee their security. Kogi will continue to be the safest state in Nigeria.”