Police chief links Nigeria blast to suicide bombers

Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, has linked the massive explosion at his force’s headquarters this morning to suicide bombers.

Mr. Ringim told reporters shortly after the incident that suspected militants carefully followed the convoy of a police Deputy Inspector General  into the police headquarters before setting off their explosives as soon as they arrived at the complex’s car park.

One of the bombers reportedly died on the spot as the vibration shook the eleven-story building, shattering windows and doors. Officials said some people were killed in the incident, while a few others were injured, but the police is yet to release figures.

As news of the incident travels around the country, Nigerians are wondering why the police could not protect its own vicinity. A source said as much as 10 armed personnel are usually stationed at the gate of the headquarters to screen visitors and cars. But the bombers still managed to make nonsense of the security barriers at the entrance.

“The fact is that the Nigeria police are completely inept,” said a commentator on the social networking site, Facebook. “For them, security is about brute force and not intelligence.”