BOMB BLAST IN PORT HARCOURT

An explosion reportedly caused by dynamite, carried in a passenger minibus killed the driver and wounded two others in Port Harcourt on Thursday. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in a statement by its spokesman Yushau Shuaibu, confirmed the incident saying, "NEMA confirms an explosion today in a commercial bus at Rumuokoro roundabout in Port Harcourt." "The driver died from the explosion. The situation is under control." Speaking on the situation, the governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, said "It was a minor incident of suspected robbers who put some dynamite and weapons inside a bus." Amaechi said it appeared the suspected robbers were using the bus for transporting explosives, when the explosion happened accidentally. "It was not a bomb attack," he said. "It was a dynamite explosion inside a bus by suspected armed robbers who usually use dynamite to rob banks." Police recovered four AK-47 rifles and an unspecified amount of ammunition at the scene. A military spokesman had earlier said the explosion occurred at a bus station in the Rumuokoro area of the city around 10.30am. He said there was no reason to suspect the blast was linked to the militant group Boko Haram.