IG orders Lagos airport terror suspect moved to Abuja

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.