The Kogi government has described Thursday’s Okene bomb explosion as the handiwork of enemies of progress.

Retired Commodore Jerry Omodara, Governor Yahaya Bello’s security adviser, said this in a telephone interview in Lokoja on Thursday.

The explosion occurred around 9:00 a.m. close to the old palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, leaving four people dead and two others injured.

Mr Omodara said the government earlier had intelligence that something like that would happen, which “explains why we had enough deployment of security personnel across the state to be able to frustrate their efforts.”

The security adviser added, “Unfortunately, in spite of that, they, the enemies of progress, still tried to distract President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Kogi by setting (off) that explosion. All the same, the deployment and tight security around didn’t allow them to achieve their aim.”

He claimed that the “cause of the blast was solely the act of misguided politicians and people who don’t want anything good for their state.”

Mr Omodara added, “We are aware of some disgruntled politicians celebrating the sad incident that happened today in Okene, where some innocent people lost their lives. As a government, we believe that issues of security must concern everyone, and until we all put our hands on deck, it will affect us in one way or the other.”

He further stated that “for some politicians to celebrate the blast is very unfortunate and not the kind of politics that can move us forward in this state and the nation as a whole,” warning “the disgruntled politicians that Kogi will continue to be on top in the area of security in this country as far as Bello’s administration is concerned.”

“His (the governor’s) interest is to have peace in Kogi, and nothing can distract him from that. We are suspecting the man that perished in the car as the one who brought the bomb or explosive to disrupt the programme for today,” claimed the governor’s security adviser.

He added, “Already, samples have been taken (from) both human and vehicle parts, and the police and other security agencies investigating the incident will determine what exactly happened. The police and other security agencies will definitely come up with their reports for the public to know.”

(NAN)