FOR the police, the main issue is the name for the explosion that killed eight and injured scores of others in Kaduna. Traders, who survived the incident, gave detailed accounts of how the bombers arrived on a motorcycle for their deadly operation.

The police have spent the past one week arguing whether it was a bomb or an explosion. We are at a loss about what the difference would have done for the capabilities of the police. Where were the police on:

April 8 – A bomb exploded in Mahuta, killing the handler and maiming one Mohammed, a suspected accomplice. The police found over 100 strands of dynamites loaded in three sacks in the home of the arrested bomber.

April 17 – Police paraded four arrested foreigners and a suspected Nigerian accomplice after two bombs exploded the previous night at an interval of two hours injuring eight and destroying some structures.

22 April – An explosion was heard at Rafin Guza. Police and Air force patrol teams raced to the scene and arrested three suspects at Matazu Road, Rafin Guza Kawo, where the blast occurred.

11 June – Police detonated a bomb in a market place in Gonin Gora area of Kaduna metropolis at about 11 am.

13 June – The police recovered an explosive near the NNPC staff quarters at Narayi.

14 June – Police discovered a bomb, strategically placed under a bridge near a high profile private secondary school, which, if it had exploded, could have cut off southern part of Kaduna metropolis from its northern part.

Why is that of 6 December the cause of the controversy over tags? Why is the police unwilling to accept the account of the eye witnesses? Do the police have something to hide? in other instances, the police agreed it was a bomb, what difference did it make to improved security?

In Jos, the bombs are going off again, bringing back memories of last year’s pre-Christmas blast that claimed more than 84 lives at an outdoor entertainment place. Last week’s attack on a viewing centre, where scores of people were watching a football match, made the point again, about how unsafe Jos and other places remain.

Measures to stem bomb explosions in the country are at best tepid. When President Goodluck Jonathan promises to punish the perpetrators, he merely repeats lines that are more than 10 years old. He does not even sound convincing.

No perpetrator is punished. More than six inspectors general of police ago, intelligence failure was blamed for riots in Jos and lately the bombs. None of the sponsors, who buy the arms and finance training of the attackers, is arrested.

How have the many findings and panels governments set up helped? When will government have the political will to settle the challenges of Abuja, Jos, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Yobe, and other places the mayhems have spread? Is government concerned beyond the trite words it throws around after each attack?

No month, starting from January 2010, passed without people being killed in Jos. Hundreds of people have died, settlements destroyed, but government investigations led nowhere. Attackers spend most of their times on villages where security is lax. They have a free rein.

A  blast in a Sapele mosque indicates either a spread of the same strand of violence or dimensions that have escaped the security agencies. Where will be next? Will the attack be shocking enough for the authorities to act?

Security will remain a major security challenge until the Federal Government finds the guts to tackle it. This will not be possible when sponsors of the bombers are not punished and the police are more interested in debating the difference between bombs and explosions.