THE Department of State Security Service (SSS), on Wednesday, cleared the mystery surrounding the actual destination of the arms and ammunition seized at the Apapa Ports in Lagos recently, saying that the destination of the cargo was Nigeria, contrary to claims that it was meant for another country.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja on the update of the seized arms and the Warri and Abuja bomb blasts, SSS spokesperson, Mrs Marilyn Ogar, Assistant Director, Public Relations, disclosed that available facts at the disposal of the Service showed that the destination of the cargo was Nigeria.
Ogar, who gave account of how the illegal cargo came into Nigeria before the seizure, explained that its bill of laden actually read, “building materials comprising glass wood and pallets of stones with destination as Nigeria.”
She declared that with this development backed up with necessary documents, “any argument that the cargo came into this country by mistake is false.”
According to her, “the ship that carried the cargo arrived at the Tin Can Port on 10th July, 2010 with 371 containers from which 85 were discharged at Frano Bonded Warehouse, Cele-Ijesha area of Lagos. The said ship departed on 11th July, 2010.
“On 20th October 2010, 13 containers out of the 85 were moved from Frano to AP Molar Terminal Apapa Port, where service personnel requested 100 per cent inspection of the containers,” she explained further.
Mrs Ogar, who assured that the Service would get to the root of the matter with the ongoing investigations, said that at present, both the consignee and the clearing agent were in their custody and declined to reveal the identities of the suspects due to ongoing investigations.
On the Warri and Abuja bomb blasts, Ogar said that further investigations had revealed that the two blasts were perpetrated by the same group allegedly under the supervision of Henry Okah, who is currently facing trial in South Africa.
She, however, disclosed that more suspects, including Lagos-based car dealers and a welder connected with the blasts had been arrested along with the receipts for the cars used in the bombing.
She explained that after the purchase of the cars, they were moved to Charles Okah’s residence in Apapa, Lagos, where the welder, welded the compartments in the cars for housing the bombs from where they were subsequently moved to Port-Harcourt and then finally to Abuja.
Ogar equally disclosed that some suspects had been nabbed over the Warri bomb blasts as they were the same set of people allegedly used by Henry Okah to execute the October 1, 2010 bombings in Abuja.
She explained that investigations had revealed that Henry Okah allegedly came from South Africa for the Warri bombings, purchased the cars which were used for the operations, moved them to the welder and later to the house of one of the suspects on March 13, 2010 where he personally wired the bombs.
According to her, “on 14th March, 2010, Okah departed the country, apparently to create an alibi for himself over the bombings that eventually took place the next day.”
On the alleged secret trial of the suspects, Ogar denied the claims, saying that, “the Service has been absolutely procedural and lawful in the ongoing prosecution of the affected suspects.”
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