ABUJA, Nigeria — The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has disowned an earlier claim attributing Monday, May 26, 2025, explosion in Abuja to a suicide bombing attempt, citing an unauthorised post published on its official X (formerly Twitter) account.
The explosion, which occurred on Monday afternoon at a bus stop opposite the Mogadishu Cantonment along the Mararaba-Nyanya expressway, left one person injured.
Initial reports, including a now-deleted post on NEMA’s X account, stated that the blast involved a suicide bomber carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) attempting to infiltrate the military barracks.
However, that narrative was rejected on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who clarified that security agencies had not identified the incident as a suicide attack.
“So don’t go and create an impression and put fear in people. NEMA is not the head of security. Security agencies are there,” Wike told journalists during an inspection of road projects in Abuja.
Providing further context, the minister explained that the explosion likely involved an individual mishandling explosives sourced from a quarry.
“What happened was that there was somebody that went to where we have these quarries, where they blast all these rocks,” Wike said.
“The person took the explosive and put it in his pocket. Of course, some of them may not even understand the implication of that, and so it exploded on him.
“So, that does not mean that it is a suicide bomber. We should be careful in the story we are planting; let’s not send the wrong message to the residents.”
Later on Wednesday, NEMA formally distanced itself from the earlier social media claim, stating that the post had not originated from its verified channels.
In a statement released by Lere Olayinka, media aide to the FCT minister, NEMA said the X account had been breached and an investigation was underway.
“Emphasising that its role in emergencies is to coordinate stakeholders’ response, the Agency noted that the security agencies are responsible for investigating and establishing the cause of such incidents,” the statement read.
The agency clarified that its official press statement following the incident made no reference to the cause of the explosion and reiterated that only security agencies are authorised to determine such details.
The incident, though limited in scale, had sparked concern among residents due to its proximity to a military installation and the sensitive nature of public safety in the capital.
