The Imo State Police Command has arrested six suspects over the discovery of two Improvised Explosive Devices in a church in Owerri, the state capital, the Commissioner of Police, Abdumajid Ali, and spokesperson for the command, Andrew Enwerem, have said.
Mr. Enwerem, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, in a chat with PREMIUM TIMES, said the command was alerted to the presence of strange objects at the entrance of the Port Harcourt Road branch of Living Faith Church aka Winners Chapel around midnight on Saturday.
He said bomb experts were immediately deployed to the church to sweep the area.
“During their check, it was discovered that Improvised Explosive Devices in forms of refrigerator compressor concealed in sack bags were discovered”, Mr. Enwerem said.
“One was promptly detonated at the scene because it was on a timer. The other one was dis-alarmed and then taken away for detonation”.
The police spokesperson said those arrested have not been directly linked to planting the deadly explosives.
“They were arrested because we believe we might be able to obtain information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators from them”, Mr. Enwerem said, adding that “Investigations are ongoing”.
It was believed that the explosives were planted on Saturday night and timed to go off after worshippers would have gathered for worship on Sunday.
Winners Chapel is one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Nigeria founded by Bishop David Oyedepo.
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