Detectives In Lagos To Trace Bomb Car Owner...

WHO owns the Golf car used by the Nyanya suicide bombers? Security agents seem to have got a clue.

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has seen the documents, a source told The Nation yesterday.

Some detectives were said to have been sent to Lagos to track down the owner, who did not provide enough data, according to sources.

The identification of the number plate came from the old registration data system which the FRSC is trying to replace because of some deficiencies.

While the search for the number plate owner continues, President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered Service Chiefs to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act in which scores of people most of them artisans and junior government workers, died.

He set the target after receiving a preliminary report on the bomb explosion.

The military has been directed to strengthen security within the perimeter of the Federal Capital Territory to prevent a reoccurrence of the explosion.

The FRSC is believed to have revealed the identity of the owner of XQ 229LSD number plate to the investigative team.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “We have got the first clue through the FRSC, which has given us the name of the owner of the number plate purportedly found on the Golf car which was used for the blast.

“The plate is the old number which the FRSC was trying to phase out. But some vital data (like the telephone number of the person) were not in the old system. It is left to investigators to work more on the lead to unravel the whereabouts of the owner.

“Some investigators are going to Lagos to dig into this aspect of the blast.”

A source in the FRSC said: “We have made the identity of the owner of the number-plate known to the appropriate authorities.

“I think the challenge at hand is that since more than 35 vehicles were involved, many number plates were also retrieved at the scene of the blast in Nyanya. So, there is need to establish through forensic analysis that XQ 229LSD plate was from the ill-fated Golf car.

“If Nigerians embrace the new registration system, we will have a comprehensive database for all vehicle owners.”

A security source spoke of how the President told the Service Chiefs to fish out the blood syndicate behind the dastardly act “to prove a point to Nigerians that we can fight terrorism”.

Said the source: “The Service Chiefs are determined to get to the roots of the blast. Already, a position has been harmonized to allow the police and the State Security Service (SSS) to investigate the incident.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “Security agencies had been proactive in the last two months, with the arrest of a sizeable number of suspects in the FCT. And what these agencies have been doing is to frisk these suspects and release them when nothing is found on them.

“We did the profiling of these arrested suspects before releasing them.”

The military has been directed to “strengthen security within the perimeter of the Federal Capital Territory. Troops will continue frisking at checkpoints.

Besides, plain-cloth security men have been deployed in vulnerable points (including motor-parks, boarding points, school premises, hospitals, recreational centres) in the FCT.

More Nigerians yesterday trooped out to the National Blood Transfusion Centre in Abuja to donate blood.

Leading the pack was Speaker of House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal, who shelved overseas trip, to donate blood for the recuperating victims.

---The Nation