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The death toll from the explosion that rocked Ibadan, Oyo state capital, on Tuesday, January 16, has risen to five, the state government has said.
Many houses were damaged in the explosion, which spanned a 14-kilometre radius.
Last night, the state governor, Seyi Makinde, while giving an update on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said two deaths were recorded on Tuesday, adding one more victim died in a hospital on Wednesday.
However, in a new update on Thursday, the Special Adviser on Security Matters to Governor Seyi Makinde, Fatai Owoseni, said two more bodies have been recovered.
“Rescue operation is still ongoing. As of yesterday, we had three casualties but this morning, just about 30 minutes ago, I got information from the security operatives supporting the medical team that two more dead bodies were recovered this morning,” he said.
During the show, the governor’s aide said the state government will ensure the diligent prosecution of those linked to the tragic incident either directly or remotely.
He said the government in collaboration with security agencies is gathering diligent information to avoid a situation whereby culprits evade justice.
According to him, this is to build the people’s trust in government as well as promote transparency in governance.
Owoseni said: “A lot of conversations have been going on, a lot of interfacing with the people so that they will see transparency in what the government is doing.
“The security agencies, especially the police, the DSS being supported by the Nigerian Army team EOD Unit as well are putting the bits and pieces of information together to ensure that discreet information is done towards prosecution to ensure that whoever, either directly, remotely connected with that incident are brought to justice.”
Foreign Names Indicted
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) certificate of a mining company indicted for Tuesday’s explosion in the Bodija area of Oyo State showed some foreign names as owners, Governor Makinde said.
He also said of the 77 people hospitalised, 60 injured victims have been discharged as the state government recovered one victim from the scene of the explosion.
“We recovered one individual alive today (Wednesday) under the rubble. 60 of the 77 people hospitalised have been discharged.
“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. We don’t have anything to cover,” the governor said on Politics Today.
Makinde said the state has identified an individual of interest that security agents should be inviting for questioning., adding that the state government has no reason for the cover-up.
‘Illegal Miners’
The governor said preliminary investigations by security agencies revealed that the blast was caused by illegal miners occupying one of the houses in Bodija, adding that the explosion occurred at Adeyi Avenue, Bodija. However, it was heard and felt in many parts of the city.
He said, “Preliminary investigations by the security agencies revealed that illegal miners occupying one of the houses in Bodija had stored explosive devices there which caused the blast. The investigations are ongoing. All those found culpable for this will be brought to book.
“We have already deployed first responders and all relevant agencies within Oyo State to carry out comprehensive search and rescue operations. These operations will continue throughout the night.”
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