By Kingsley Omonobi, Chris Ochayi, Caleb Anyansina,  Abuja
But for the inbuilt fire extinguisher mechanism that was put in place at the UN House in Abuja, the entire 5 -storey building would have gone up in flames and caved in following the impact of the bomb blast carried out by a suicide bomber in an explosive -laden Honda car yesterday.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the fire extinguishers also prevented scores of vehicles within and outside the UN House from going up in flames but that did not stop the entire window structure of the building from being shattered while widow glasses of houses about 500 meters to the building were seriously damaged, leaving residents and all who visited the scene, wondering how the entire building did not collapse?

Speaking to newsmen, the FCT Commissioner of Police Mike Zoukomor, disclosed that from preliminary investigation, 18 people were feared dead while eight were receiving treatment for injuries sustained.

Sources at the National Hospital, which is about 1, 000meteres away confided in Saturday Vanguard that over 50 dead bodies had been evacuated from the scene of the suicide bomb attack as at 2pm yesterday.

The causality figure it was said, might likely increase further as rescue operations were still been carried out by various teams of NEMA, Police, Fire Service, the armed forces, Civil Defence Corps, Immigration as at the time of filing  at the time of this report are still seeing transporting wounded victims to the National Hospital in Nigeria’s capital city.

Said CP Zuokumor, “This is a suicide bomb attack. A Honda Accord car filled with explosives smashed into the 1st and 2nd gates, and after that, drove to the reception where he detonated the explosive. The suicide bomber died in the explosive.

“We have recovered his body. The explosive cut his body into three. There was no specific information about the bomb blast. The security measures we put in place in the FCT today, which caused hardship to many, were put in place because we were being proactive. You must have heard there are bomb blasts in the country and we had been on alert.

“Even yesterday, when we heard of things happening in some other places (Yola), we decided to strengthen all our exit and entry points.”

On the bombers, the CP said, “We don’t know any group. We don’t know any group that has done this but we will find out. But look at this clean Honda Accord driven by a Nigerian and because we have fundamental human rights, there is an extent the police would even question you and if they question you and they think that there is nothing against you, they would allow you to go.”

Describing the act as ‘barbaric’, CP Zuokumor urged the people of the FCT to be calm as with time the perpetrators would be brought to book.

“I want to assure you that this is just an embodiment of evil. Those who can plan to carry out this kind of thing are devilish. These things are triggered by people who have darkness, and light will always triumph over darkness. I know with time we are going to get those people conjuring things like this to kill innocent people for nothing, arrested”, he assured.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Professor (Mrs.) Viola Onwuliri who made government position known, insisted that the yesterday’s suicide bomb attack on the United Nations’ building in Abuja was an attack on international communities but vowed that the government will get to the root of the matter.

Noting that, “President Goodluck Jonathan was really taken aback on the account of this bomb attack”, the minister stated that the Federal Government has made a lot of efforts to strengthening the security in the country.

Country Representatives of the United Nation Population Fund, UNFPA, Mrs. Agati Lawson charged the surviving staff at the United Nations building not to be despaired by the incidents but to  the summon courage to work for the world body.

She further instructed the heads of the different UN agencies to wait behind for further information and collation of information regarding the staff under them.