Ibadan explosion: Makinde Vows To Bring Perpetrators To Book
….The roof fell on my mother in bed’
…..Foreign names found in CAC documents of company that stored explosives – Makinde
A deadly blast that rocked the Nigerian city of Ibadan overnight was caused by explosives stored by illegal miners, the Oyo state governor has said.
Two people were killed and 77 others injured in the explosion that has affected seven suburbs of Nigeria’s third most-populous city.
Crowds have thronged the site of the blast as rescue efforts continue.
A man whose mother’s home was destroyed says she was in bed at the time of the blast and is now in hospital.
“The roof and everything went down. She was inside in her bed when it happened. She was rushed to the hospital naked and I’m going there now,” he told Journalists as he was rushing to see her.
Buildings have been reduced to near rubble at the site of the blast and vehicles destroyed. Further away from the blast zone, windows have been blown out of houses and rooftops damaged.
Eyewitnesses say the explosion happened at around 7:45PM local time (18:45 GMT) in Bodija, a residential district of district of the city.
It was heard across the city of Ibadan, the capital of south-western Oyo state.
One of the onlookers at the scene is a painter who had been working at one of the buildings that collapsed. He turned up to work in the morning and is unable to find his boss.
“I have been calling him but the number is not connecting and I saw that his vehicle has been destroyed,”.
Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde posted a statement on Facebook promising that those responsible would be “brought to book”.
“I have directed that the medical bills of all victims be covered by the government,” he said.
“We will also be providing temporary accommodation for those whose houses were affected and ensuring that they are supported to rebuild their lives.”
Foreign names found in CAC documents of company that stored explosives – Makinde
Meanwhile, Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, says the company involved in the storage of the explosive devices that led to the explosion in Ibadan, the state capital, has been identified.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, Makinde said there are some foreign names on the documents of the company domiciled with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
The governor had said that the explosion was caused by illegal miners who stored explosive devices in one of the buildings.
Giving an update on the incident, Makinde added that one of those receiving treatment at the hospital as a result of the blast died today, taking the death toll to three.
He clarified that the explosion had nothing to do with banditry or insurgency.
“The truth is that we have identified the company involved with the storage of explosive devices in that particular building,” Makinde said.
“We have an individual of interest who the security agencies should be inviting for questioning.
“I repeat my position that anyone who has contributed to putting this tragedy upon us, we will definitely bring them to book.
“It is not anything that has to do with banditry or insurgency. It is simply illegal miners who decided to store explosives in residential area
“We are trying to uncover the identities of the people. We’ve done a few fact-finding on the company involved, and yes, there are indeed some foreign names on the CAC documents of the company involved, but these are still early days.”
The governor assured the people of the state that his administration has no reason to cover up anything regarding the cause of the incident.
Makinde said the residents of the area where the incident happened were aware of the activities of illegal miners in their area but failed to report them to authorities.
