THERE was panic in Abuja yesterday, following a security
breach.
A man allegedly carrying grenades at
the venue of ministerial briefings was arrested.
Police have launched a search for the
suspect, John Akpanum Akalu’s female accomplice.
The police also foiled an attempt to
infiltrate its headquarters by another man who could not explain his mission.
But police spokesman Frank Mba denied
that there was a bomb threat at its headquarters.
The FCT Police Command is interrogating
Akalu, who was arrested at the Radio House for allegedly being in
possession of three hand grenades.
Radio House, headquarters of the
Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), also houses the Federal Ministry
of Information and the National Press Centre.
Ministers have been taking turns to
give account of their stewardship at the press centre, as part of activities
marking President Goodluck Jonathan’s one year in office.
Akalu, 39, an engineer, hails
from Nasarawa State.
The Abuja police anti-bomb squad
arrested the suspect, who said the ammunition was meant for his brother,
a police officer attached to the Radio House.
Mr John Akindele, the policeman and the
chief security officer attached to the Radio House, said Akpanum was arrested
at the entrance of the building when it was noticed he was carrying explosives.
Akalu was immediately taken to the
police headquarters.
The National Press Centre in the
premises of the Radio House is also the venue of the ongoing Ministerial
Platform to showcase the achievements of ministers in the last one year.
The Ministers of Aviation, Mrs Stella
Odua, Youth Development, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi and Attorney-General of the
Federation, Muohhammed Adoke, were slated for Monday to tell the public what
they had achieved in the past one year.
The suspect was arrested when Abdullahi
was rendering an account of his stewardship as the supervising minister of
sports.
As news of the arrest filtered into the
hall, all those seated started trooping out.
An attempt to infiltrate the Force
Headquarters was yesterday foiled following the interception of a man dressed
in a Fulani camouflage.
It was learnt that the suspect was
arrested at the gate of the Force Headquarters.
This led to a massive security build-up
in Abuja, following a security alert of likely terror strike.
Investigation by our correspondent
revealed that the suspect attempted to enter the Force Headquarters at about
9.30am but vigilant security agents subjected him to a thorough check.
It was learnt that in the process of
the checks, a substance was found in a water keg which was hung on his
neck.
According to a top police officer, the
substance was meant to be off-loaded at the Force Headquarters, if the suspect
had entered.
An officer said: “The incident happened
at about 9.30am. Everyone was on the queue but when it got to his turn, the
scanner raised the alarm.
“The policemen on sentry guards and
security operatives became suspicious and decided to conduct manual checks on
the suspect only to discover that he hid some substance on the water gourd he
was hanging on his shoulders.
“We suspected it might have been a
timed explosive meant to be detonated if he had gained entrance.
“Certainly, it was another device by a
terror group to strike at the Force Headquarters.”
Another source said: “It is difficult
to ascertain which terror group the suspect was running errand for.
“But the suspect was immediately
evacuated and taken away to a special centre for interrogation.”
A Commissioner of Police at the Force
Headquarters said: “When the man got to the gate of the Force Headquarters, he
was behaving funny and his attitude became suspicious.
“I do not think that there is much to
the incident.”
A senior police officer said: “We have
ordered all police commands and formations to beef up security because we are
working on a suspicion that a terror group wanted to engage in simultaneous
strikes in specific locations in Abuja.
“For instance, another suspect was
arrested with grenades at the Radio House Abuja, which is directly behind the
Defence Headquarters and the headquarters of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy
and the Nigeria Air Force. “