Bomb discovered Inside banking Hall in Osun State (PHOTO)

Tragedy was averted as a security guard attached to a branch of First Bank Plc in Osogbo uncovered an explosive substance wrapped in a bag in the banking hall, on Tuesday. Bank officials and customers were quickly evacuated from the bank as a senior official announced that a bomb had been found where it was planted. The correspondent gathered that officials of the Police Anti-Bomb Squad deployed in the bank defused the bomb and cordoned off the Station Road, where the bank is located. This led to confusion in the area as many shop owners hurriedly closed while some left their wares and ran for safety. The banking hall was later reopened but five minutes later, those inside were asked to leave again because the bank was not ready to resume operations as of that time. Effort to speak with bank officials yielded no result and members of Anti-Bomb Squad and regular policemen deployed in the bank also refused to speak to journalists. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, could not be reached but a senior police official, who pleaded not to be named, told our correspondent that the command would issue a statement on the incident.