Bomb threat forces cancellation of UG exams until next week

Last Updated on Friday, 24 May 2019, 18:57 by Writer

Police late Friday afternoon gave the University of Guyana (UG) the green light for staff and students to return to the Turkeyen Campus, after several hours of searching for bombs that someone said earlier in the day had been planted, a spokeswoman for the tertiary institution said.

Public Relations Officer, Paulette Paul said all examinations have been cancelled until next week, as “nobody is allowed on the campus until tomorrow (Saturday)”.

“They just did a thorough search of the campus,” she added.

The bomb threat was made on Facebook Friday morning, prompting firefighters and police officers to be deployed to the main East Demerara campus.

Sources said the campus gates were closed, a move that had at one time caused a build-up of vehicular traffic of those trying to enter the campus and of others wanting to exit.

The threat by someone named “Jack Ryan” states that “I have placed 20 bombs across the University of Guyana campus which are hidden from plain sight,” adding that the bombs could be activated by a remote timer and that the explosive devices had been timed to detonate at 3 pm “if my demands are not met”.  The demands were not stated.

In February, a woman was charged in connection with bomb threats that she had allegedly issued by telephone.