* MEND denies responsibility
* Not an attack on barracks, says Army spokesman
* Police bomb disposal experts move in
* Obasanjo complains to Clark
PORT-HARCOURT � WEDNESDAY night car bomb explosion in Port Harcourt sparked off, yesterday, a controversy over the source of the explosion after an unknown person purporting to speak for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of the group. The claim was immediately disputed by an official of MEND and an Army spokesman.
The car bomb attack near the Second Amphibious Brigade Army Barracks, Port Harcourt at about 8 p.m. left two persons dead, and six others seriously injured. It involved a Mercedes Benz car with number plate DA 746 KJA. All the victims were civilians.
�The incident happened between 8.00p.m and 8.30 p.m. yesterday (Wednesday). A Mercedes Benz car that was passing through the barracks exploded. One person died instantly while a second person died this morning,� said Major Musa Sagir.
�Six other people were injured and are receiving treatment. No soldier was involved. All the victims were civilians. It is still not clear if the substance was a bomb or dynamite,� the Brigade spokesman said.
�You should not go and hear it from the market that is why we decided to bring you to the scene of the incident. From what you have seen, it is now clear to you that there was nothing like militant attacks on the barracks. It was a car explosion. Whether it was a bomb or dynamite we are yet to confirm. Police officers were instantly here yesterday (Wednesday) and they have carried some of the debris they required for official investigation after which they would know whether it was a bomb or a dynamite or whatever.
�The car involved was a Mercedes Benz regular DA 746 KJA. I cannot say how it happened. No military personnel was involved in the casualty figure. The casualties are civilians, two women and four men. Those who died, one was on the spot and the other at the hospital,� Major Sagir explained.
An Okada rider who claimed to have helped in the rescue operation said: �I saw it happen and was involved in rescuing victims. People were many there. I was there and just carried a passenger and before we could move a good distance, we heard a loud sound, with fire. As usual, everybody scampered for safety. But later, we rushed to the scene. You should have seen the dead people on the ground. Those in pains, we immediately started rushing into vehicles to the hospital. The dead ones were also taken to the morgue. The number of dead cases should not be fewer than 10.�
Another source told Vanguard he saw two young men fiddling with the Mercedes Benz before the explosion occurred. �They were carrying on like the car had faults. We even advised them to push it to a safe distance as the soldiers would not allow them leave it there. We did not know their intention was evil.�
There were blood stains at the scene. When Vanguard visited, there were still pieces of human flesh on the road. A white Hilux pick-up with its front windscreen smashed was parked at one end of the road, while a motor bike was seen lying close to it. A fez cap suspected to belong to one of the victims was on the grass by the side of the road. The soldiers cordoned off the portion of the road where the incident occurred from motorists and passers by.
Police chief spokesman, Mr Haz Iwendi, described the explosion as a �bomb blast� and said detectives and military intelligence were investigating.
However, someone purporting to speak for MEND, responding to an email enquiry said: �It was a car bomb fitted in a Mercedes Benz 200, 1980 model. This was intended as a warning to the Nigerian government and oil companies.
�The driver and other occupants left the scene long before this device was activated by cell phone. I assure you, all our operatives involved in this operation are home and dry. In the coming weeks, we will carry out similar attacks against relevant oil industry targets and individuals,� he said.
Bori Camp is close to the centre of Port Harcourt. Civilian traffic is usually allowed to use a road through the base.
�The police anti-bomb disposal unit is still investigating the cause but the car was completely blown up and torn into shreds,� Major Sagir said. A Port Harcourt police officer confirmed the details of the blast. �We allow the barracks to be used by civilians as a thoroughfare because of the cordiality between the military and the state government,� Sagir added. Witnesses said the barracks had been sealed off following the explosion.
The blast followed a threat by the militants to step up their attacks. �We do not need any further mismanagement of the fast diminishing resources of our land,� MEND said Wednesday, rejecting an offer from President Olusegun Obasanjo to boost regional development spending and create 20,000 jobs. �What we have demanded now is the control of our resources,� it said.
Security reports
Preliminary security reports yesterday in Abuja suggested that the bomb was possibly earmarked for use at one of the oil platforms in the Niger Delta area.
The report came just as the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Sunday Ehindero, directed Police bomb disposal experts to move to the scene of the explosion to ascertain the type of bomb involved with a view to determining where it might have originated from.
Military intelligence apparatus was also activated with Defence authorities directing a thorough investigation of the incident, while efforts should be made to ascertain the motive for carrying such a bomb.
According to sources, security agencies are working on the theory that the occupants of the vehicle might be members of any of the growing militant groups in the Niger Delta.
Expressing happiness that the bomb did not explode close to the ammunition dump at the Bori Camp Barracks which would have resulted in monumental tragedy, the source said security would be beefed up in all military and police formations as well as economic installations in the area.
MEND denies responsibility
However, a top official of MEND, yesterday, denied that the group was responsible for the car bomb explosion in Rivers State, saying some mischief-makers were using the name of the movement to attract attention to themselves.
The official of the movement who contacted Vanguard, yesterday, said: �We are aware that a certain group, claiming to be MEND, said it was the movement that caused the car bombing. I want to tell you that we in the MEND are not responsible for the attack.
�This is a fake MEND, it is not the real MEND. We announce whatever activity we want to carry out, that is our style. We don�t have a hand in this. Right now, the National Leader of the Ijaw nation, Chief Edwin Clark, has just returned from Abuja where he went to see Mr. President. We are waiting for briefing from Chief Clark, and so, we cannot be bombing anywhere.
�If you had watched well, you would observe that MEND does not strike in the way these people are striking. We know there is an on-going struggle in the Niger Delta but our movement believes in dialogue. Now that Chief Clark is back, the Ijaw nation is meeting at Yenagoa. It is after that we will know what we are doing next,� he said.
Obasanjo complains to Clark
Meanwhile, President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday complained to the Ijaw Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, who he invited to Aso Villa, Abuja for discussion that the Federal Government was not at ease with the unbending position of the Ijaw in his administration�s renewed bid to tackle the underdevelopment in the coastal states of the Niger Delta.
Details of what transpired at the meeting between President Obasanjo and the former Federal Commissioner for Information were not made public but a dependable source hinted Vanguard that Ijaw leaders would meet next Tuesday at Yenagoa to hear from Clark what he discussed with the President and formally take a position on the visit and other matters.
Coordinator of the Ijaw Monitoring Group (IMG), Mr Joseph Evah, confirmed to Vanguard when contacted, last night, that the Ijaw would be meeting in Yenagoa on Tuesday to �decide our future.�
A dependable source told Vanguard that after pouring his heart out, the President made his telephone hotlines available to the Ijaw leader for direct and unhindered access. The President reportedly told Chief Clark that as the Ijaw leader, he had an unimpeded access to the Presidential Villa anytime he wanted.
It was gathered that after President Obasanjo briefed Chief Clark on the purpose of his summons, the Ijaw leader took time off to tell him why the Ijaw were unhappy with the Federal Government.