The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, has directed that the suspected suicide bomber arrested near the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos on Monday be moved to Abuja.
A security source said that the IG ordered the transfer of the physically-challenged terror suspect to Abuja for immediate interrogation and investigation into his activities.
The source said that the suspected insurgent would be in Abuja on Tuesday evening in view of the urgency of the IG’s directive.
The suspected suicide bomber had attempted to bomb the annex office of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, located inside the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, when he was apprehended by security personnel on Monday.
The physically-challenged suspect whose name was yet to be ascertained was reportedly arrested with suspected explosives around his neck.
The suspect who was later handed over to the police by Airport security operatives, was subsequently taken to the Airport Police headquarters along the Ikeja- Airport road
It was learnt that the Police would conduct investigations into the issue of the arrested insurgent.
The source said that investigation would also focus on the mental state of the suspect and the veracity of the statements he was said to have made to security operatives.
It was gathered that security operatives would not rush to make any statement about the suspect in order to avoid sending out wrong information to the public.
It was further learnt that prior to the directive to move the suspect to the Force Headquarters, the Police in Lagos were looking at claims that the terror suspect might have mental challenges.
Security operatives are investigating the canisters that were said to be in custody of the suspect when he was arrested with a view to finding out whether they were Improvised Explosive Devices or not.
The source said that the security operatives would ensure a holistic investigation into the incident in spite of claims that the cripple was known in the area to be of unstable mind.
It was further stated that other security agencies like the Department of State Security could only come in after the police might have concluded their investigation and if they chose to hand over the matter to the SSS for further action.
The source said, “That suspect has been moved to Abuja; the Police are the ones investigating the matter.
“Today, the IG issued an urgent directive that the suspect should be moved to Abuja immediately and I think that has been done.
“Although, there are issues about the state of mind of the man, but we are not taking any chances; the matter would be investigated thoroughly.
“I also believe that the items that were found on him would be duly screened to find out whether they were IEDs or not.
“For now, the Police are in charge and after their investigation, if there is anything to hand him over to the SSS, they will take over from there.”
The NAMA General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Supo Atobatele, had said the suspect was nabbed while making phone calls and when accosted, his incoherent explanation led to his arrest by security operatives.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday as repeated calls to his phone failed to connect and he did not respond to a text message sent to him.
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