We stopped another terror attack, they wanted to bomb Govt House — Aiyedatiwa

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has revealed that security operatives foiled an alleged plot by five youths to bomb the Ondo State Government House several months ago.

Aiyedatiwa disclosed this on Wednesday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, shortly after a Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced four persons to death by hanging for their roles in the June 5, 2022 terrorist attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church, Owo.

According to the governor, the suspects had assembled bomb-making materials and other equipment in a hotel where they were staying before security agencies received intelligence about their activities.

He said operatives of the Nigeria Police Force and the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun, acted on the intelligence, raided the hotel and arrested the suspects before they could carry out the planned attack.

The governor stated that the suspects remain in detention.

Aiyedatiwa said the group had allegedly planned to target the Government House, although he noted that the motive behind the plot remains unclear.

He cited the incident as evidence of ongoing efforts by security agencies to tackle security threats in the state, stressing that isolated incidents should not be interpreted as a failure of the government’s security measures.

The governor’s remarks came in the wake of renewed discussions on security following the conviction and sentencing of four persons for the 2022 Owo church attack, which left more than 40 worshippers dead and over 100 others injured.

He said: “We have been doing so much. I will give you an example. I think it’s about three or four months ago, some youth, about five of them, they wanted to bomb the government house.

“They were in their hotel, they didn’t move into a rented apartment, and they have all the equipment, all the gadgets.

“We got an intelligence report, and the police, and Amotekun moved in, busted them in the house, where they were arrested.

“They are still in detention right now. Their mission was to bomb the government house. For what reason? Only God knows. So we are working, like I said, maybe one incident happened and it doesn’t mean that we have not been working.”