Commissioner claims Kogi explosion was ‘mere transformer spark’ — then deletes tweet

 

Kingsley Fanwo, the Kogi commissioner for information, has deleted a social media post about an explosion in the state.

 

NigerianEye had reported how an explosion rocked a community in Okene LGA of the state on Thursday morning.

 

The incident took place at a mosque near the palace of Ado Ibrahim, the paramount ruler of Ebiraland.

 

The blast occurred before the arrival of President Muhammadu Buhari who was in the area to inaugurate projects completed by the state government.

 

Several locals had said that they heard the sound of the explosion and that some persons were injured and killed.

 

But in a series of tweets, the commissioner said it was a “mere transformer spark which injured one person”.

 

“Contrary to the blatant lie that there was a bomb explosion that killed three people in Okene, I wish to debunk the falsehood here,” Fanwo wrote in now-deleted tweets.

 

 “It was a mere transformer spark which injured one person. Mr President is currently enjoying the hospitality of our people right there at Okene where he is commissioning life-touching projects, executed by Governor Yahaya Bello.

 

“Our people should ignore the rumour and savour the presence of our dear President. We are Kogi people. We are hospitable.”

 

The tweets were eventually deleted a little over an hour after they were posted.

 

Although there are reports of casualties from the explosion, TheCable has not yet been able to ascertain the death toll.