Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed has confirmed yesterday’s huge explosion in the Area 1 Shopping Centre of the city.
But against widespread insinuations, Mohammed said the explosion — which occurred at a shop located at Shagari Plaza, opposite the Area 1 Shopping Centre at Garki District, Abuja — was not a bomb explosion but a gas explosion from the shop located at the plaza.
“The gas cylinder explosion occurred at an open gas shop when the seller was refilling a cylinder for a customer at about 4.45 pm”, Bala said in a statement signed by his special adviser on media, Nosike Ogbuenyi.
“There were no casualties. The FCT Fire Service promptly arrived at the scene and put out the fire”.
Bala urged members of the public to disregard rumours of a bomb explosion, which he described as “baseless and false”.
