FACT-CHECK: Was the Kogi government office on fire yesterday?
Several media outlets yesterday published that Kogi state government office was set ablaze after an unidentified object exploded in the premises housing the office of the Secretary to the Kogi State Government.
However, Kogi State Police Command in a statement published yesterday, refuted this allegations.
According to the statement, there was no occurrence of any explosion in the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Folashade Arike Ayoade, or any government office in Lokoja the state capital.
Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Adeyemi Oluwafemi, who signed the statement, clarified that the Command received a distress call that there was an object resembling an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was seen on the fence of the ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, opposite Mohammad Buhari Square.
The statement read: “The attention of Kogi State Police Command has been drawn to an online publication on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, that the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Police Command, has confirmed an explosion in the state capital of Kogi State.
“The Command is therefore using this medium to state unequivocally that the report is false. The publication is mischievous as the Commissioner never granted such an interview.
“On Tuesday, July 26 2022 at about 0745hrs, the Command received a distress call that there was an object that looked like an IED placed on the fence of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, opposite Mohammad Buhari Square, Lokoja.
“The bomb disposal unit was immediately deployed to the scene. On arrival, they found out that it was a plastic bottle and a can of insecticide wrapped together with a power source to look like an IED. It was discovered to be a hoax and the object was removed by operatives of the bomb disposal unit.
“The Command is using this medium to appeal to all media outlets and members of the public to be advocates of peace and to always verify facts of incidents from the Police before publishing stories.” the statement added.
