Latest Bomb Threat In Abuja: Security Beefed Up In Markets, Parks

Security agencies, comprising the military, police and SSS operatives, have intensified security surveillance in the nation’s federal capital following increasing threats of bomb blasts which have been rife in the social media. Investigation revealed that the operatives, who have been put on their toes by the series of bomb blast in the FCT in recent times, are also venting the pressure on FCT residents who are compelled to go through harrowing conditions in the course of security stop and search operations. At the Nyanya-Mararaba axis, the security check is still fully in operation. The process includes stopping of motorcycles and checking the bags of passengers. Nyanya town has suffered two bomb attacks which left over 100 people dead and many more injured. The residents of the town who are still smarting from the huge loss of lives and properties from the two attacks are wearied by the vigorous stop and search operations which many of the residents say have so far yielded no major arrest of terrorists. According to residents of the area, the military checks which start from Kugbo Mechanic Junction has not been as effective and serious at it used to be when it started. They aver that this could make security porous in that area. According to Abduralman Obaje, a resident of Jikwoyi, another town on that axis, the way the checks are going on, it is obvious that it would be difficult to really detect any dangerous explosive devices if they are carried into the city centre or anywhere, because manual search is not enough to fight terrorism. “We have passed the era of using manual or analogue means to fight terrorism. The best way to really boost security and fight against it in Nigeria should be through computerised methods, using computerised devices to detect danger from a distance, not this manual style. Only God can really help, because the way it is now, we all have to look up to God,” he said. At Nyanya motorpark, a driver who spoke on the basis of anonymity, said that the drivers had cautioned themselves to always look out for strange vehicles within the premises, and to report immediately to security operatives. “We have to be vigilant because the last two bomb blasts have taught us lessons. We are praying that it should not happen again; that is why if we see any strange vehicle around, we quickly raise an alarm. We do not allow vehicles that are not part of us to park inside our parks, because we know that prevention is better than cure. “The military are trying to do their best to protect us, but, we have to also do our part to prevent any negative occurrence, because life has no duplicate. The federal government should help us put an end to this terror in Nigeria,” he said. The security operatives have also increased their presence in all the major markets and parks. At the popular Wuse Market, security has been beefed up, as gun-totting policemen were seen at strategic areas of the market to ensure free flow of traffic, while private security personnel were positioned at the three entry points of the market, conducting a stop-and-search on vehicles, and checking of hand bags before their owners are allowed to enter the market premises. At Utako and Jabi district which have both market and park areas, the situation was not different.