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| car suspected to have been used for the attack |
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| A victim of the incident |
A car laden with bombs yesterday exploded at the ever
busy Folawiyo junction on Creek Road, Apapa, killing four persons, while
several others were injured. Eyewitnesses said that the car, a
Mercedes-Benz 190, exploded around 8:30pm, after it was parked beside a fuel
tanker heading into Folawiyo tank farm.The scene of the blast at Apapa.Wreckage
of the carThe explosion was said to have shocked residents of Apapa and its
environs, which was also said to have affected two banks operating in the area,
while many other buildings were also destroyed .Many residents were scared that
the explosion could have been the handiwork of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, who
may have targeted the area being a depot of petroleum products. On a visit to the the scene, the wreckage of the Mercedes Benz, was
seen at the scene, while the remains of an unidentified woman also littered the
ground.An eyewitness who identified himself as Musa Ali, said that he
narrowly escaped death when the explosion occurred.His words: “I am a truck
conductor and my truck was on the queue. I was walking towards the Folawiyo
junction when I heard the explosion and I thought it was an earthquake. When I
looked up I saw a large ball of fire at the spot where I was to buy food and a
woman in front of me was badly injured. Fire fighters quickly raced to the
scene and after some minutes the fire was put off. When I went close I saw a
deep hole at the point where the explosion occurred.”Another eye witness said:
“A car wired with a bomb device rammed under a trailer parked outside the tank
farm which exploded at about 8.30pm. We were all scared when we heard the
explosion and saw smoke everywhere. There was pandemonium as everyone started
running helter-skelter and it was in the midst of this confusion that a man
wearing a hijab ran into the compound to detonate another bomb. Apparently, the
first bomb was meant to be a distraction.”However, spokesperson of the Lagos
state police command, Ngozi Braide confirmed the incident but stated
emphatically that it was not a bomb explosion.She could however not give
details of how the tanker exploded, saying the Divisional Police Officer in
charge of Apapa would brief her later
