The Rivers State Government has confirmed the arrest of a suspect in connection with Tuesday’s explosion near the Presidential Hotel in Port Harcourt.
It was earlier reported that an explosion occurred near the hotel on the Aba expressway, sparking widespread panic and chaos in the area, with reports indicating that the blast may have been caused by dynamite.
Dr. Adaeze Oreh, the State Commissioner for Health, issued a directive to all public and private medical facilities in the state, and less than 24 hours later, they apprehended the suspect.
The directive had requested that medical facilities be on the lookout for the suspect, reporting any sightings and detaining him if possible based on identifying features and injury signs.
Oreh said at a press briefing on Tuesday evening: “Now the Rivers State Ministry of Health is calling for an alert to all medical facilities in the state, both public and privately owned facilities, to be vigilant and look out for an individual, a young man with a traumatically dismembered upper limb, because this injury, which was sustained, will require medical attention.
“If such an individual and their accomplices are present in any of the facilities, immediately notify the Commissioner for Police, Rivers State, and the Rivers State Ministry of Health.”
Oreh said the suspected bomber, whose identity remains unknown, was taken to the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital by his friends, who have since fled.
She said the individuals who brought the suspect to the hospital initially claimed that he had been injured in a road accident, but their story has since been called into question.
The commissioner said: “Following that call, our medical facilities in the state were on a heightened sense of alert, and so when a young man was brought to the hospital, he was taken to the theatre for immediate resuscitation because he was brought semi-conscious.
“The medical personnel immediately informed the Commissioner for Police and the Rivers State Ministry of Health about the presence of that individual in the facility, even when providing emergency medical care to revive and resuscitate him.”
Oreh noted the patient is now in a stable condition.
READ ALSO: Appeal Court reserves judgment in suit on Rivers State Assembly crisis
She said: We are working with the Rivers State Police Command, and the hospital premises and perimeter have been fully secured.
“The police are doing their own part in carrying out the necessary investigations.
“And so in this manner, we just seek to inform the public that this is the update following the earlier incident of today in Port Harcourt.”
Attempts to contact Rivers State Commissioner of Police Olatunji Disu on Wednesday morning were unsuccessful, as his phone was unreachable.
Grace Iringe-Koko, a spokesperson for the police command, said she had not heard anything about the arrest of the suspected bomber.
She promised to investigate and provide an update, but had not done so as of Wednesday morning when this report was filed.
On Tuesday night, the State Commissioner for Police, Olatunju Disu, while confirming the explosion, said that following preliminary investigations, the suspect actually detonated the explosive device.
He declined to attribute the explosion to the protesters who had earlier barricaded the 23 local government council secretariats in the state, instead announcing that the police have launched a full investigation into the incident to determine its cause and circumstances.
He said : “We got that information that four people in a white Corolla vehicle somewhere along Aba Road stopped their vehicle, and there was an explosion.
“The information we gathered was that two of the occupants of the vehicle were injured, while two others came out, put them in the vehicle, and drove off.”
Credible News.ng
