24th January, 2024
By Ayorinde Oluokun/ABUJA
The Federal Capital Territory, FCT Police Command has attributed the explosion which resulted in pandemonium in Maitama, a high-brow area of Abuja early Wednesday morning to an overheated refuse bin.
Residents of Maitama were thrown into panic on Wednesday morning by the loud explosion with fears that it may be due to a bomb blast.
It was gathered that the explosion went off around 11 am around the premises of the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
The explosion followed the recent upsurge in criminal activities, especially, kidnapping in some parts of the FCT.
But while confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the FCT Command, SP Josephine Adeh, attributed the explosion to an overheated metal.
The Police spokesperson said this was the conclusion of the bomb disposal squad sent to investigate the cause of the blast.
She added that two scavengers were injured by the explosion from the overheated metal refuse container activated under intense heat.
She said: “The FCT Police Command hereby wishes to update the public on an alleged explosion on 24/01/2024 at about 1145 hrs, near a refuse dump outside the Bureau of Public Enterprise premises in Maitama, Abuja.
“A rapid response team and members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit was deployed to assess the situation and preliminary findings indicate that an overheated metal refuse container activated under intense heat, exploded, thereby causing injury to two of the refuse evacuators, who are currently receiving medical attention in Maitama General Hospital.
“The FCT Police command urge members of the public to exercise caution and refrain from using metal refuse bins. Instead, we recommend the use of plastic or rubber containers for waste disposal, as they pose a reduced risk of incidents related to overheated metal refuse containers.”
She said the situation has been brought under control.
