Tension in Abuja as suspected bomb found near Shoprite shopping mall

Report just coming in informs that a parcel, suspected to be an Improvised Explosives Device, has been found under the Jabi bridge, near the Shoprite shopping mall in Abuja.

We learnt that access road to the bridge has now been blocked, while police operatives, including operatives of the Anti-bomb squad are redirecting commuters and motorists to take alternative routes.

However, the found item turned out to be a container said to have been left under the bridge by the Federal Capital Territory Water Board.

Our correspondent who visited the scene, observed that the situation had normalized and motorists were allowed to access the road, which was earlier blocked.

A maize seller near the Shoprite mall, told our correspondent, that the container was kept under the bridge by the water board officials on Wednesday.

She said, “The police found out that it was not a bomb as speculated. What happened was that someone saw the food cooler and informed the Shoprite security guards about it and they called the police who blocked the road and checked the container for bomb, but nothing was found in it.”

When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Anjuguri Manzah, promised to obtain the status update from his superiors, but he had yet to get back to our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.