The Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, has set-up a Special Investigation Team to unravel the mystery behind the explosion that occurred at llu Abo near Akure, the Ondo State Capital, early Saturday, 28th March, 2020.
The team, which is headed by the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit, Force Headquarters, Abuja, CP Maikudi A. Shehu, is made up of police officers from the Police Bomb Disposal Squad.
This department, according to police spokesman, Frank Mba, in a statement on Monday, is a specialized arm of the Police that oversees explosives and ordinance operations of the Force, including controlled detonation, safe evacuation, sweeping, assessment, analysis, intelligence and investigations touching on bombs and all forms of explosives related incidents.
The investigation team, Mba said, will work jointly with experts from the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) – the nation’s leading Research and Development Institution that is the sole repository of all geo-scientific data.
The agency, the statement further said, has a state-of-the-art laboratory with the capacity and expertise to carry out a wide range of geo-scientific examinations.
Mba said: “The IGP hopes that with the involvement of NGSA, the quality and integrity of investigations into the explosion will be greatly enhanced.
“The IGP however enjoins the citizens especially those living around the scene of the incident to avoid the area so as not to tamper with the scene of incident and the ongoing investigations.”
The IGP called for calm and assured that the outcome of investigations will be made public.
The explosion
There was an explosion that shook Akure last Saturday morning along Akure- Owo road in Ondo State.
The explosion destroyed close to a hundred houses, a church and a school.
The Ondo State commissioner of Police, Mr Adie Undie, had claimed the explosion was caused by explosives being conveyed in a truck to a quarry company in Edo State.
The incident, Daily Trust learnt, occurred at about 1:am.
According to the police, the explosion, which occurred close to Akure Airport, cut off the Akure-Owo road into two and left several people injured.
