Bomb scare in Rivers, police evacuate suspected explosive

There was confusion in Portharcourt, the Rivers State capital on Tuesday as operatives of the Nigeria Police Force evacuated a leather bag suspected to contain explosives.Residents, commuters and traders along the ever busy Ikwerre Road axis of Port Harcourt ran for their dear lives when an unidentified man dropped laptop bag by the roadside and ran away.The entire Ikwerre and Railway Roads in Port Harcourt were deserted for about 30 minutes as the news of the presence of an explosive within thearea at about 1.30pm travelled far and wide the state capital.Families members were said to have made frantic phone calls to their loved ones who had gone to a market located within the area so as to be sure that they (loved ones) were alive.It will be recalled that scores of Nigerians lost theirlives when a bomb exploded at the Nyanya Motor Park in Abuja on Monday.It was gathered that a petty trader had noticed the strange movement of a man with a leather bag around Chisco Motor Park and Delispice; a popular restaurant on Ikwerre Road.An eyewitness said the strange man, whose movement up and down the road with the bag clung to his shoulder became suspicious suddenlydropped the bag and immediately left the place.According to the eyewitness, who identified himself as Chief Eze, “The woman, who noticed thesuspicious movement of the man, raised the alarmwhile pointing at the black bag that was abandoned on the floor.“The Anti-Bomb Disposal Unit of the police came to the place, picked up the bag and checked what was inside before taking it away.“Before the policemen left, bystanders asked them what was in the bag. Their response was that members of the public should always inform the police whenever they notice any strange movement or object within their environment.”However, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, said there was no bomb in the laptop bag.Ogunsakin, who spoke through his Personal Assistant, Mr. Tunji Wusu, said the bag contained a laptop suspected to have been stolen by the unidentified man that dropped it by the road side.