Ebonyi State Police Command has said that the man who was killed in an explosion in Afikpo Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday, was a police officer and not a suicide bomber as reported in the media.
The police spokesperson in the state, Loveth Odah, made the clarification on Tuesday, saying the man was a mobile police officer on special deployment to Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
She identified the officer as Idi Aminu.
Recall that on Tuesday, there were reports that a suspected suicide bomber died close to the Amizi Amangbala Primary School in Afikpo North.
A resident of Afikpo had said, “he made an attempt at entering Amaizu/ Amangballa Primary School but was turned back by the school security since he couldn’t justify his reason for visiting. He immediately started running inside a nearby bush before a big bang was heard.
“The upper part of the man’s body was completely destroyed form the impact of the bomb.”
But the police, reacting to the incident, said the victim mistakenly hit the lead of his grenade which was hanging on his waist with his elbow, resulting in the deadly explosion. The remains of the police operative have been taken to a mortuary.