Residents of Adeyi Avenue in Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, have blamed Malian illegal miners for the explosion that rocked the ancient city on Tuesday night.
The explosion left at least three persons dead, scores of others injured, and property worth billions of naira destroyed.
This is just as President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, called on the relevant government agencies to “fish out” and “punish” those responsible for what he called “reckless behaviour” that triggered a devastating blast in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital Tuesday night.
This was as he expressed sadness over the incident he described as “worrisome.”
Makinde further revealed that the investigation revealed foreign names in the Corporate Affairs Commission documents of the company involved in the Ibadan blast.
The governor, while appearing on TV Today, He explained that the explosion revealed the failure of the neighbourhood association, adding that they failed to report the activities of illegal miners in the area to law enforcement agencies.
“Yes, we are trying to uncover the identity of the people involved. We have done a few fact-finding on the company involved. And yes, there are indeed some foreign names in the CAC documents of the company involved, but these are still very early days. We don’t have any reason to cover anything.
“It is a failure of the neighbourhood association because we always admonish our people. If you see something that doesn’t look right, then bring it to the attention of the authorities and then they will do something about it. So, people within this neighbourhood are aware of some of these things. But it was never brought to the attention of the authorities.
To prevent an occurrence, Makinde said he would seek approval from President Bola Tinubu to compel miners with explosives to store them with the military.
His words, “I will be seeking approval from the President for us in Oyo State to ensure that any mining activity, anybody that has to deal with explosives, take it to storage with the military. And if they need to use it, they go there, collect it and the military will escort them to where they will use it.
“Once I have the nod of Mr President, I should be signing an executive order that will make it mandatory for anybody dealing with explosives in Oyo state to have it stored with the military.
Makinde further noted that 60 out of the 77 injured persons have been successfully treated and discharged.
Tinubu in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said, “It is worrisome that the cause of the blast is being attributed to the activities of illegal miners.
“Those behind the inexcusable and reckless behaviour that has created the conditions for the sad incident to occur must be fished out and punished.”
The statement is titled ‘President Tinubu commiserates with Oyo State government, victims over the Ibadan explosion.’
President Tinubu commiserated with the government and people of Oyo State and called on all concerned agencies of government to unravel the circumstances that led to the tragedy with alacrity.
He directed the National Emergency Management Agency to work with the Oyo State Government to offer immediate and comprehensive relief to the victims.
The Commissioner who said that the situation hub was headed by the Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal, also advised victims to submit verifiable evidence of their losses and to seek clarifications on the nature of government intervention.
The statement also disclosed that temporary accommodation had been arranged by the government for those displaced as a result of the explosion, adding that the state government would also finance the hospital bills of those injured.
Oyelade confirmed that several victims had started registering at the hub, even as he said that they were being put through by emergency and disaster experts.
As investigations by the security agency into the explosion continued, the state government is narrowing down on the possible cause of the blast.
The commissioner said that because of new evidence, the government was interrogating certain leads that suggested the storage of explosives by illegal miners residing in the area.
During his visit to the scene last night, Governor Seyi Makinde implored residents of Oyo State to be more sensitive to the goings-on in their environment.
“If you see something, say something,” the Makinde emphasized.
Punch / Arafat Ayofe
