Scores killed as bomb explosions rock INEC office in Suleja

Explosion rocks INEC office in Suleja

An explosion has hit the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission Office in Suleja, Niger State, killing at least 11 people.

About 30 people, many of them Youth Corps members, who had gone to the INEC office to check their names and postings against tomorrow's polls, were reportedly victims of the blast.

The cause of the explosion is not yet known but eyewitnesses say it occurred less than two hours after electoral materials were delivered to the office amidst a security convoy.

A nurse at the Suleja General Hospital said about 30 people were taken to the hospital after the incident. The nurse, who asked not to be named, said at least 10 of the victims had died.

Earlier, the hospital requested for ambulances to convey the victims to a hospital in Abuja as its facilities could not accommodate the casualties.

"We have good doctors," said Chris Olukudo, a lab scientist who appeared shocked about the extent of decapitation he had witnessed. "But we don't have equipment. It was a bad day and the ambulance only arrived two hours after the first victims".

When contacted the spokesperson of the police in the state, Richard ADAMU Oguche said, "I am driving there now. Please I need to see the place before I can talk to you."

However, reacting to the tragedy, the state's acting attorney general, Abdul Bawa, said it is a national tragedy and called on the electoral body to postpone elections in the state.

"These dead young people are here on national duty but some callous being has taken their life. For what? " he said. "This power you seek even if you get it can only be for a short time."

"We are not an insensitive government. How can elections go on in this circumstance?" Mr Bawa further queried.

"Although it is not our place to decide if election should take place, we would advice against it."

Two days ago the electoral commission had announced that parliamentary voting had been postponed in the Niger South senatorial district as well as the Bida/Gbako/Katcha and Lavun/Edasi/Mokwa federal constituencies. The commission has not yet announced if the Friday evening blast would force a further curtailment of the elections.

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