Foreign illegal miners’ explosives detonate in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital killing many and injuring numerous others
By Patrick Ogboru
On Tuesday, January 16, residents of Ibadan the Oyo State capital city woke up from a seeming nightmare. At about 8pm that evening what the residents thought could be a nightmare became a physical reality. Bang, bang, bang went the chilling explosives in many parts of the cosmopolitan city. As many people began to scamper for safety in the night, some hitting their feet against some stumbling blocks along the paths, the lid of nightmare had been blown off their eyes. Immediately they became alive to reality, some kinds of explosives were rocking the peaceful city. But could it be that war has started? Who is waging the war and against who? Why is the bombing starting from the peaceful city of Ibadan? The residents wondered and wandered that night until the deafening sounds of the explosion waned.
At the end of the explosion, more than five deaths trailed it, while over 77 others sustained various degrees of injuries. Investigation revealed that illegal miners had stored explosives in their house which detonated. An eyewitness, who simply identified himself as Alhaji Musa, narrated how he escaped death by whiskers. According to Musa, illegal miners from other countries were responsible for the explosion. He said the fire that caused the explosion started in the house of the foreigners who ran out of their house without alerting anyone.
Hear him: “Fire started just a meter away from that house and at the time we came downstairs there was no one in the premises. The house where the fire started was occupied by Senegalese or Namibians and they engaged in mining activities.
“They had explosives inside the building. The explosion was a result of the explosives kept in that building. The foreigners have been living there since 2013. They go in the morning and come back in the evening. The foreigners, including their children, ran out of the house and they didn’t alert us so we could run away too. They knew the implication when they saw the fire so they ran out without alerting us”.
The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde believes that the activities of illegal miners may have caused the explosion. Makinde whose offices at the State Secretariat, Agodi in Ibadan were affected by the explosion, said devices stored by illegal miners caused the explosion. According to the governor, preliminary investigation carried out by the state government indicated that illegal miners stored explosive devices in one of the houses located in the Bodija area of the state capital.
Makinde: “We visited the scene of the explosion which occured at about 7.44 pm yesterday (Tuesday) January 16, 2024, in Bodija, Ibadan. This unfortunate incident resulted in death and injury to residents in the vicinity and also affected properties.
“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”.
On the identities of those responsible for the explosion, governor Makinde said, “We are trying to uncover the identities of the people. We’ve done a few fact finding on the company involved but these are still early days, we don’t have anything to cover”.
Makinde said the state would take care of the medical bills of those who sustained injury as a result of the blast. “I have directed that the medical bills of all victims be covered by the government. We will also be providing temporary accommodation for those whose houses were affected and ensure that they are supported to rebuild their lives “, Makinde said.
Confirming the number of casualties, the Special Adviser on Security Matters to the Oyo State governor, Fatai Owoseni said, “Rescue operation is still ongoing. As of yesterday (Wednesday January 17) we had three casualties, but this morning (Thursday), I got information from security operatives supporting the medical team that two more dead bodies were recovered “.
The Oyo State Police Command has also declared wanted the occupants of the building where the explosion happened. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Adebola Hamzat, said the suspects have been declared wanted after he had gone round the scene of the incident to assess what happened.
