There was confusion  in Suleja, headquarters of Suleja local government area of Niger State on Wednesday over a bomb scare that made residents scamper for safety.

The rumour of the bomb which was said to have been planted at the main market of the town (Babangida market) quickly spread to all nooks and crannies of the town.

Our correspondent gathered that traders who had thronged to the market for their usual business transactions very early in the morning hurriedly left the market for their homes on hearing the rumour. This development however, caused pandemonium around the market vicinity.

However, it was discovered  that what was perceived to be an explosive was an ordinary black polythene bag containing dirt and which was neatly wrapped. This was disclosed by the military and the police bomb experts who were drafted to the scene to ascertain the authenticity of the rumour.

The Niger State police command spokesman, ASP Richard Oguche, who confirmed the development said there was nothing like explosive planted in the market but that rather, the people of the town, out of their past experiences acted promptly by alerting the police  when a black rapped object was seen within  the market area early in the morning.

According to him, “it was later discovered that the Black polythene bag suspected to be containing the explosive only had some wearing apparels and because the Army was already there with their Bomb detecting machines, they seized the opportunity to sweep the entire market with the Bomb detector in order to be sure of safety of the market.”

Meanwhile, normalcy has gradually returned as business transactions have resumed at the market.