Kogi: No bomb explosion in government offices — it’s a hoax

The Kogi government says there was no bomb explosion around its state secretariat or offices in Lokoja, the state capital.  

There were reports earlier on Tuesday that a loud explosion was heard on the premises housing the office of Folashade Ayoade, the secretary to the Kogi state government.

However, in a statement, Onogwu Muhammed, the chief press secretary to the governor, said there was no bomb explosion recorded. 

Muhammed, however, said there was a call to the police regarding an object which looked like an improvised explosive device (IED) around the fence of one of the ministries.

“The Bomb Disposal Unit at the Nigerian Police Force Command located a minute away from the scene was immediately deployed to the area,” the statement reads.

“On arrival, they found out that it was a plastic bottle and a can of insecticide wrapped together with a power source to look like an IED. It was discovered to be a hoax and the object was removed by operatives of the Bomb Disposal Unit.

“However, there was no explosion around any government premises in Lokoja as reported by some media platforms.”