LAGOS, Nigeria — A Lagos Island bomb scare brought police to a busy commercial district on Thursday after three suspicious packages were found.
Tests later showed that the objects contained industrial sealants, not explosives, officials said.
The packages were reported at about 8:35 a.m. on Thursday, May 15, 2014, in the Tom Jones area, near Nnamdi Azikiwe Street and an Access Bank branch.
Bomb-disposal officers secured the scene and removed the objects for examination.
Ngozi Braide, a spokeswoman for the Lagos State Police Command, said the analysis found a glue-like industrial substance and no explosive material.
Police said the packages might have fallen from a load being transported through the area.
The discovery caused alarm, and some businesses closed while officers examined the packages. Police later said that the area was calm and that security personnel remained on alert.
Ibrahim Farinloye, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, also rejected reports that bombs had been planted and urged residents not to panic.
The agency’s response was reported alongside the police findings.
Initial accounts claimed that the objects had been programmed to explode at 1 p.m. near a LAGBUS terminal.
Some reports also said that a foreign man described as Sudanese had been detained. The official accounts did not confirm those assertions or identify an arrested suspect.
 
 
 
