Following Tuesday’s explosion which rocked Bodija in Ibadan, Oyo State, one more corpse has been recovered from the rubble, bringing the number of casualties to four as rescue operation continues.
Daily Trust reports that the yet to be identified corpse was found yesterday morning.
No fewer than four persons were reportedly killed and 77 others injured in the explosion which also damaged at least 58 buildings and 10 cars.
Meanwhile, details about the alleged illegal miners said to be responsible for the stockpiling of explosives which resulted in the explosion emerged.
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A former member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Barrister Muideen Olalekan Olagunju, who revealed that Sawane Youssouf, a Malian who was occupying the building where the incident occurred, was the leader of the illegal miners in the state, warned that there was a possibility that people working for illegal miners in Ibadan had explosives in their living apartments.
He revealed that Youssouf and three others, including a Nigerian, registered a company called SDYB International Company Limited, with registration certificat numbered 511184 in 2004, so as to engage in mining activities in the state.
He added that Youssouf, Darame Ibrahima, Yattara Ibrahim and Bakare Hakeem Oladimeji were the directors in the company involved in illegal mining activities, especially in Iwere-Ile in Iwajowa Local Government Area.
He advised that the government must immediately determine the locations of those working for Youssouf and take proper charge of explosives in their possession.
Olagunju said, “How he was able to do that in a residential estate with a few eyebrows raised is a failure of intelligence at both government and community levels.
“To think the location is just a stone’s throw from the government secretariat is damning. His own negligent stupidity, as well as government’s taciturn approach to security of lives and property, has caused unnecessary deaths, injuries and property damage.
“I searched the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission to find that Sawane Youssouf incorporated a company on May 17, 2004, called SDYB International Company Nigeria Limited with RC 511184. This is the list of directors: (1) Sawane Youssouf, (2) Darame Ibrahima, (3) Yattara Ibrahim (4). Bakare Hakeem Oladimeji. By their names, three of the four directors hail from Mali.”
He also alleged that Youssouf made use of security agents to move explosives.
He said, “I have credible information also that Sawane used police, DSS and other security operatives to move his explosives and other logistics. It shows complicity. It is unclear Sawane was in the house when the explosion occurred. If he was, I doubt he would survive the magnitude of the blast. Everything within 100 metres radius of the blast site is flattened.”
A former Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mike Ejiofor, who called for investigation into the unfortunate incident, called on Nigerians to always report suspicious activities to security operatives.
A professor of strategic management and human capital development, Okey Ikechukwu, called on the government to nip the activities of illegal miners in the country. Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has said that the house will after resumption on January 30, launch a full investigation into the circumstances that led to the explosion in Ibadan on Tuesday.
Similarly, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, Orji Kalu, and the Senator representing Abia Central, Austin Akobundu, have commiserated with the government and people of Oyo State over Tuesday’s explosion in Ibadan. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has also called for a thorough investigation into the explosion so that those found culpable can be brought to justice.
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