The explosion occurred during a protest against the tenure of local government chairmen in Rivers State, resulting in damage near the hotel, which is owned by the state government.
The individual responsible for the dynamite explosion at Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt on June 25 was already on the police’s wanted list prior to the incident.
The explosion occurred during a protest against the tenure of local government chairmen in Rivers State, resulting in damage near the hotel, which is owned by the state government.
The June 25 explosion near Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt, which occurred during a protest over local government chairmen’s tenure, injured the person carrying the dynamite.
In response, State Commissioner for Health Dr. Adaeze Oreh issued a directive to hospitals statewide to be on high alert for patients with similar injuries and to promptly notify the government, NAN reports.
The health commission later said a patient with the described injury reported at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital and had been held.
She said the patient was brought unconscious to the hospital by his friends, who claimed he was involved in a road accident, but the doctors, on examining the injuries, “immediately recognised that the injuries seen on this individual were not in tandem with a road traffic accident, but rather resemble injuries that would have come from a blast.”
However, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the spokesperson for the command, in a statement on Sunday said the suspect had been on police ‘wanted list” before the incident.
Iringe-Koko accused Josiah of involvement in multiple armed robberies in the state from 2012 and 2016, including high-profile bank heists led by one Daniel Gogo, alias Full Payment.
She said, “Preye Josiah has been on our wanted list prior to the incident.
“Josiah, 40, from Kabiama community of Sagbama Local Government Area, detonated the IED along the Port Harcourt–Aba Expressway.
“He was immediately arrested after the explosion and is receiving treatment for serious injuries.
“Previously evasive, Josiah has been identified as the dynamite detonating expert of the robbery gang and is a member of the Vikings Confraternity.”
“He has confessed to detonating the dynamite at the Port Harcourt–Aba Expressway,” she added.
She said that police detectives were actively pursuing leads to identify Josiah’s accomplices and sponsors behind the explosion.
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