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Claim: A Facebook user claims an explosion occurred in Rivers State amidst the ongoing Local Government elections.
Verdict: True. Credible media outlets have reported that an explosion caused by dynamite explosives destroyed the All Progressives Congress’s secretariat, located along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Full Text
Rivers State witnessed elections in all its 23 Local Government Areas (LGA) on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
Amidst the Local Government (LG) elections, a Facebook user, Yoruba Aproko, claims an explosion occurred in the South-Southern State.
“Video: Hours Before LG Polls, Explosion Rocks APC Secretariat In Rivers State,” the claimant wrote.
Before the elections, there was a political rift between the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and other political parties in the State over the release of the voter register.
The claim, posted on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2025, has been played 87 times according to web data available and attracted one comment.
To forestall any form of misinformation and disinformation during the local government elections in Rivers State, DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a Google Reverse Image Search on some of the video scenes; however, we found no material file related to the incident. We also did a keyword search related to any bomb blast that occurred in Rivers State amidst the local government elections and found news reports published by Punch, Vanguard, and Channels Television.
According to the Punch newspaper, dynamite explosives were hurled at the All Progressives Congress (APC) secretariat located along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, destroyed some parts of the building complex and some other properties.
Vanguard newspaper quoted the state’s APC factional leader, Tony Okocha, as blaming the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for the attack.
He said, “At the wee hours of Saturday, pro-Fubara civilian soldiers detonated dynamite at our office. The second attempt to set it ablaze was foiled as the security at the gate quickly put out the fire.”
Channels TV also reported a similar development.
Conclusion
The claim an explosion occurred in Rivers State is true. Available news reports revealed dynamite explosives were hurled at the APC secretariat along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, on Saturday, Oct 5, 2024.
