Security agency blames rain for failure to stop blasts........"make i hear jor"

In a curious admittance of
laxity, the State Security
Service (SSS) has admitted
that it received warnings
more than 30 hours prior to
last week’s Independence
Day bombings in Abuja.
It, however, blamed the early
morning rain for its lack of
ability to nip the deadly acts
in the bud. The twin blasts,
which killed 16 people, have
triggered concerns about
national security alertness
after the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger
Delta (MEND) claimed it sent
warnings to state agencies
five days ahead of the
killings.

The SSS said on Monday that
it nipped an initial plot
scheduled two days earlier -
Wednesday- by evacuating
vehicles around the Three
Arms Zone, but said the
perpetrators “apparently”
mixed with motorists to plant
the lethal cars, during the
Friday morning rains.

The SSS, in a statement
yesterday, said, “On 1st
October 2010, the Eagles
Square and its environs were
effectively cordoned-off and
appropriate measures were
put in place to prevent any
untoward incident. However,
the rain showers of that
morning provided the leeway
for double parking by
motorists. In the process, the
perpetrators apparently
gained access to park on the
road side as well.”

Henry Okah, the alleged
leader of the MEND, was
charged in South Africa
yesterday for terrorism, in
connection with the
bombings. The SSS said it has
made nine arrests so far, and
all have direct links with Mr.
Okah, the incident, and some
“unscrupulous prominent
elements”. It said the names
of their sponsors would not
be released since the
investigations are not
completed.

The statement, signed by
Marilyn Ogar, the agency’s
assistant director of public
relations, said the SSS, with
its head office about one
kilometre from the scene of
the explosions, received its
first intelligence on the
bombings, three days earlier
-on Tuesday, September 28,
2010, about 1.30pm.
“As soon as the information
was received,” the agency
said, it foiled the initial plot,
which was billed for
Wednesday, September 29, to
scare foreign dignitaries
from attending the October
1st Golden Jubilee
celebrations.

In the warnings it received,
the Three Arms Zone, which
hosts the Presidency, the
National Assembly, and the
Supreme Court, is said to
have been targeted for
bombings. The Service said it
contacted the military, which
provided three towing trucks
to be combined with those of
the SSS, for the removal of
vehicles around the area.

The operations lasted from
2.15pm to 6.30pm Tuesday,
and nine “abandoned”
vehicles were towed away,
the Service said. Of these,
two were near the SSS
headquarters, two facing the
villa gate and the NASS, two
close to the Louis Edet police
headquarters, one at the
Eagle Square, and two around
Apo legislative quarters.
“It is worthy of note that out
of the seven vehicles
removed from the Three
Arms Zone, four are yet to be
collected,” the statement
continued.

The operation later extended
to the Federal Road Safety
Corps, with a mandate to
remove unclaimed vehicles in
other parts of the federal
capital territory. That lasted
till October 1st morning, and
saw the removal of 65
vehicles, according to the
agency.