The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has stated that the explosion that occurred on Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at a refuse dump outside the office of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in Maitama, Abuja was not a bomb explosion as alleged on social media. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the FCT Police Spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh.
Adeh said, “The FCT Police Command hereby wishes to update the public on an alleged explosion on January 24, 2024 at about 11:45 am, near a refuse dump outside the Bureau of Public Enterprise premises in Maitama, Abuja.
“A rapid response team and members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit were deployed to assess the situation and preliminary findings indicate that an overheated metal refuse container activated under intense heat, exploded, thereby causing injury to 2 of the refuse evacuators, who are currently receiving medical attention in Maitama General Hospital.
“The FCT Police Command urges members of the public to exercise caution and refrain from using metal refuse bins. Instead, we recommend the use of plastic or rubber containers for waste disposal, as they pose a reduced risk of incidents related to overheated metal refuse containers.”