Police arrest man ‘strapped with bomb’ in Plateau bank

Security operatives have apprehended a man strapped with Person Borne Improvised Explosive Device (SPBIED) inside a bank in Plateau.

Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, said the man was nabbed at a bank in Dadin Kowa town in Jos South LGA of the state.

The publication said the incident occurred on May 13.

Intelligence sources told Makama that the man planned to detonate the explosives at the bank but was spotted by a vigilante operative who raised the alarm.

The publication said after the suspect was apprehended, an angry mob surrounded him and insisted he should be killed.

Makama could not confirm if the suspect is connected to the fighters of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The publication added that the suspect is in the custody of the police and currently undergoing investigation.

Nigeria has been battling insurgency for two decades, with suicide bombings, displacement of entire communities and kidnapping for ransom by the terrorists, recorded in that span.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said about 83 children — mostly girls — were used as human bombs in 2017 alone.