US embassy cable - 03LAGOS307

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 000307 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DS/DSS/ITA, DS/IP/AF, DS/DSS/CC, AF/W 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2013 
TAGS: ASEC, NI, PINS 
SUBJECT: LAGOS EXPLOSION AND NNPC FIRE FOLLOW-UP 
 
 
Classified By: RSO J. Pelphrey.  Reason 1.5 (d) and (g) 
 
 
1.  (C)  Summary: RSO met with police officials on Thursday 
and Friday 02/06 and 02/07 regarding last Sunday's explosion 
in Lagos.  Police provided some insight into the explosion. 
RSO staff has also been in contact with the bomb squad in an 
effort to see explosives taken from the scene.  One police 
contact provided additional thoughts on the fire at NNPC. 
End Summary. 
 
 
2.  (C) On Thursday 02/06/03, RSO met with Assistant 
Commissioner Ojiri (please protect) concerning police support 
for the Consulate in the event of hostilities and to request 
information regarding the explosion on Sunday 02/02/03.  AC 
Ojiri confirmed that the area of the explosion is a market 
area where Lagos merchants go to buy wholesale merchandise 
for resale throughout Lagos.  He said he did not believe the 
explosion was terrorist related and cited the death of a 
local Immam as proof.  The explosion could have been 
politically motivated citing the upcoming elections.  The 
most likely cause of the explosions was the storage of the 
explosives by someone needing money and having a storage 
space for rent.  Unfortunately, the bomb squad was unable to 
identify the origin of the explosives.  When RSO offered that 
the USG was standing by to offer assistance if requested, AC 
Ojiri said that the Nigerian Police were not yet ready to 
request assistance, but he would pass on the offer on Friday 
when he met with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police  When 
asked if the house where the explosion took place might be a 
bomb factory, AC Ojiri initially did not understand the 
question stating the place of the explosion was not the 
target.  When asked again, AC Ojiri suggested the possibility 
that the owner of the explosives asked someone to arrange 
storage for a fee and the explosives were stored in a 
warehouse area of the residence. 
 
 
3.  (C)  On Friday 02/07/03, RSO met with Superintendent 
Garba Baba-Umar (please protect) head of Ikoyi Island police 
district.  During the conversation, Superintendent Baba-Umar 
described the explosives as two types.  One type was long and 
rectangular about the size of a desktop stapler and the 
second was round like an apple but bigger than a hand 
grenade.  The Superintendent advised that members of the bomb 
squad had never seen these types of explosives.  The 
Superintendent offered the following description of events of 
the explosion:  There was a small explosion that started a 
fire followed by two larger explosions that brought down the 
houses.  The superintendent did not offer how the first 
explosion was caused.  The Superintendent said he suggested a 
sweep of the neighborhood to locate additional caches of 
explosives to his superiors, but his idea was not 
enthusiastically received.  He advised that he believes the 
investigation is going slowly because Lagos State politics 
was behind the explosions.  He cited the confiscation of 
numerous weapons by numerous agencies in the past several 
months as further evidence of Lagos State political 
involvement in recent problems.  He also advised that 
numerous "area boys" who have been involved in a gang war 
have been charged to court for criminal activities only to be 
released on bail at the urging of political leaders and their 
lawyers. 
 
 
4.  (C)  Superintendent Baba Umar (please protect) provided 
the following information regarding the NNPC fire.  He said 
that he has a tape recording of the suspect from the NNPC 
fire in which the suspect admits starting the fire.  The 
Superintendent advised that he did not believe the suspect 
participated in the fire.  The Superintendent advised the 
only troubling part of the confession was the suspect's 
reference that Kaduna would be next.  The Superintendent 
advised that the NNPC refinery in Kaduna caught fire the day 
following the fire at NNPC headquarters in Lagos.  The 
Superintendent said he believed the NNPC fires were 
politically motivated. 
 
 
5.  (C)  RSO FSNI has spoken to the bomb squad deputy 
commander several times during the week who has confirmed the 
explosives are commercial explosives.  RSO has requested to 
see the explosives with the intention of photographing them. 
The Commander of the bomb squad was in Abuja on Friday and 
the request will be made again on Monday.  The investigation 
into the cause of the explosion continues.  RSO will provide 
additional information as it becomes available. 
HINSON-JONES