THE Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has received the official report on the January 16, 2024 explosion at Adeyi Avenue, Bodija, Ibadan.
The report, which includes the findings of the Medical, Security, and Engineering Teams, was presented to the governor yesterday at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
During a press conference at the Governor’s Office Briefing Room shortly after the report was presented, the Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, COMPOL Fatai Owoseni (rtd), stated that three people of interest have been identified in connection with the cause of the tragic incident.
He stated that the identified individuals will face prosecution based on the findings of the investigation.
Owoseni further emphasised that the street where the incident occurred is Aderinola Street, not Dejo Oyelese Street, as previously stated, and that the epicentre of the disaster is Nos. 8A and 8B.
Owoseni further revealed that the explosive is classified as a “Water Gel Type Based Explosive” and that the explosion was caused by an electric spark, adding that a Closed Circuit Television in one of the impacted residences captured footage of the occurrence.
He promised that the state government would bring the criminals to justice, and that the government would check the immigration status of all those of interest, given that the majority of them are from Mali.
He said: “We have been able to report that the swiftness with which security was deployed to the epicentre had so far successfully made the state to fully secure the environment. And with the security that was provided, the state has also been able to prevent untoward happenings, especially opportunistic crimes that hoodlums always take advantage of such situations to carry out.
“We would recall that an emergency situation centre was put in place by the governor, and was located at the premises of Oyo State Housing Corporation, Ibadan.
“The EOC has so far collated information, data of things that happened there and some of the data collated include census of the respective houses and the fatalities that were affected including the extent of losses suffered.
“As of 6 p.m. on Friday, 3rd of February, which was the 18th day of the incident, a total of 335 affected persons registered at the emergency situation centre including 16 companies or business operators, churches, mosques, three schools and the UCH also approached the centre to report on their losses.
“The losses reported also include fatality, injuries of various degrees, damages ranging from total collapse and submerging of houses, houses that suffered collateral damage and the ones that suffered minimal damages.”
Owoseni also addressed the Executive Order signed by the governor on safe handling and storage of harmful substances in the state, stating that residents of the state should interface and share useful information with the his office through No 2, Oba Akenzua Crescent, Onireke, Ibadan, or through an email address, [email protected].
“There is an Executive Order that was signed by the governor last week, which has placed obligations on people that deal with explosives or do businesses where they use explosives. Obligations have been created under that Executive Order, which define what harmful particles or substances are.
“The first phase of the Executive Order, which is to declare within 72 hours as to whether you are in possession of explosives or harmful substances has passed. I can tell you that, as of the time the 72 hours lapsed, no one came forward. And the second phase is where we are now, which states that anyone that comes in possession of harmful substances should declare to the office of Special Adviser of Security to the governor within 24hrs,”Owoseni added.
Also speaking to reporters, the chairman of the Nigeria Institute of Structural Engineers, Engr. Mbim Okutinyang, who is also the lead coordinator of the team that performed structural integrity on the affected houses, stated that his team covered 282 houses and that only four of them would have to be demolished due to the severity of the damage.
He did, however, emphasize that the seismic report was still needed.
Prof. Temitope Alonge, Head of the Emergency Operation Centre, also contributed, stating that 80 casualties were managed throughout multiple hospitals following the incident, but only five patients were admitted at the time of the news conference.
He said that four of the patients are being treated at University College Hospital (UCH) and are in varying stages of rehabilitation, while one is being treated at Redeemers Hospital for a spinal cord injury.
He stated that the majority of the cases at UCH will likely be discharged within the next week.
He also added that some of the afflicted victims who had physical problems, including as respiratory illnesses, had been treated, while those who had indications of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are being treated by clinical psychologists from UCH, supervised by Funmi Olowa.
Giving an update on the radioactivity tests, Alonge stated that the incident site has been cleared of radioactivity, as the EOC invited the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NNRA) to conduct another screening on Sunday, February 4th, and “the good news is that there were no radiations outside of normal.”
