The Police Command in Gombe State on Monday foiled a bomb attack on a Government Secondary School, located within Gombe metropolis.
The Police Commissioner, Kudu Nma, who disclosed this to journalists in Gombe, the State Capital, noted that the bombers were targeting graduating students of the school – who were sitting for their final NECO Mathematics examination.
“This morning, around 10:45 am, we received a distress call and in my usual reaction, I immediately dispatched a team of anti-bomb experts and other key officers.
“On reaching the scene, it was discovered that a Honda Odyssey vehicle packed with explosives had already rammed into the fence of the school, where NECO examination was going on. If not because of the timely intervention of the Police, the devastation would have been enormous on pupils and students, as well as property 800 meters within the area. The casualty would have been high,” the official said.
He noted that the attacker’s motive was to have a maximum impact as they planned to hit the targets from a close range of 800 square -meter radius.
According to the Commissioner, the bombers had mapped out some strategic places to attack including markets in Gombe metropolis, the State office of NECO and the Gombe Area Command of the Nigerian Police located opposite the school.
He said the prevention of what would have been a major disaster was due to prompt information and distress calls from concerned citizens. He further urged the people to always assist the police with necessary information to curb such planned attacks.
