Lagos bomb: Police, eyewitnesses disagree over cause of explosion

The chairman of Miracle Beach Sand Association, Chief Oladele Pius, popularly known as Apase, was blown to pieces and the leg of a policeman shattered and his eyes blinded when an explosion, suspected to be a bomb, occurred under the Festac bridge Lagos in Lagos State on Monday.
Pius was said to have been killed instantly as the bomb exploded.
His legs and arms were flung in different directions, while his intestines were also splattered and scattered.
A policeman, who allegedly came to visit him to collect money, was caught in the explosion.
One of his legs shattered and one of his eyes gone blind.
Immediately the explosion occurred, members of the association on ground descended on the wounded policeman, thinking he was the person who detonated the bomb.
They, however, released him after he showed them his phone call records, insisting that he came to the beach on the request of the chairman.
An eyewitness, Adeola Peters, who sells sand and is a member of the association of sand sellers in the area, said: “This incident happened at about 11am.
:He arrived at 10am, parked his white Jeep and went to eat.
“The policeman is his friend.
“He used to give police people money.
“He gave the policeman friend N5,000 and then sat on the fence.
“Our chairman, who we call baba, has a point he used to sit.
“Everybody knows that.
“Nobody dares sit on his space.
“Whosoever planted the bomb knew this.
“Not up to five minutes after he sat down, the bomb exploded.
“There was another policeman on ground.
“He started crying that his benefactor was dead.
“He said that last year when he was trying to get accommodation, the chairman gave him N50,000.”
It was gathered from peters that after the explosion, anti bomb policemen who dashed to the scene discovered that strings of electrical wires ran from the lagoon, were attached to the seat, which had become Pius’s seat.
He added that just two weeks ago, Pius bought his white Pathfinder Jeep marked LSR 957 AZ.
He stressed that there was no power tussle in their union since the post of the chairmanship was not open to rotation or vote.
Pius had always been the chairman and this had been for more than 10 years now.
The suspected bomb device was taken away by anti-bomb policemen for investigation.
According to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko: “I want to make it categorically clear that it was not bomb explosion.
“But there was an electrical default that went to the extent of making such a loud noise.
“One Chief Pius was killed.
“Also, one Akin Sunday, an Inspector of Police attached to Festac Police Station, was affected.
“Pius died in the hospital while Akin Sunday is still receiving treatment.
“We are looking into the issue.
“It’s not an attack from Boko Haram as people are speculating.
“We want Lagosians to know that Lagos is safe.
“It was an electrical default somewhere.
“Lagosians are free to go about their businesses.
“Lagos is not under attack.”