• ‘Three persons of interest identified, to be prosecuted’
• Put your abandoned structures into use or lose them, Oyo govt warns residents
Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has received an official report on the January 16, 2024 explosion at Adeyi Avenue, Bodija, Ibadan.
The report, which was submitted to the governor at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, on Tuesday, comprises findings of the medical, security and engineering teams.
Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, FataiOwoseni, while addressing journalists at the briefing room in the governor’s office shortly after the presentation of the report, said that three persons of interest had been identified in connection with the cause of the unfortunate incident, adding that the identified persons will face prosecution based on the investigation carried out.
Owoseni, who also clarified that the street where the incident happened is Aderinola Street and not Dejo Oyelese Street, as earlier widely reported, added that the epicentre of the tragedy is No. 8A and No. 8B.
He said that the character of the explosive is known as “Water Gel Type Based Explosive” and that the explosion was triggered by an electric spark, while a Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) in one of the affected houses gave footage of how the incident happened.
The special adviser to the governor, therefore, gave the assurance that the state government would bring the perpetrators to book, adding that the government would check on the immigration status of all the people of interest since a majority of them are from Mali.
However, Oyo State Government has said that abandoned structures and property in the state are constituting security threats, calling on all owners of such buildings to put them into their primary use or else the government will take over them.
The state’s Commissioner for Lands, Housing, Survey and Urban Development, William Akin-Funmilayo, gave the warning during an inspection tour to De Castle Inn along Queens Elizabeth 11, Total Garden/Gate Road, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Akin-Funmilayo said owners of the abandoned buildings who refused to do the needful must be ready to forfeit them to the state, adding that the government would make proper use of them for the benefit of all residents of the state.
The commissioner said the government got information from the public and security agencies that the abandoned De Castle Inn was constituting a security threat to the environment, as criminals and hoodlums usually hid there.Akin-Funmilayo said that the ultimatum was immediate.
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Member of the panel on Bodija explosion, Ade Adewole (left); another member, Ibrahim Bello; Chairman, NIstructure, a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mbim Okutinyang and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, during the submission of the official report on the incident to the governor at the Executive Chamber, Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan… yesterday.
