CASUALTIES from the explosion that rocked Ibadan, Oyo state capital, on Tuesday, January 16, have risen to three.
The state governor, Seyi Makinde, gave the update on Wednesday, January 17.
Makinde said two deaths were recorded on Tuesday, and one more victim died in a hospital on Wednesday.
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The governor said this when he featured on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” programme.
“We recovered one individual alive today (Wednesday) under the rubble. 60 of the 77 people hospitalised have been discharged,” the governor said.
Makinde also revealed that a mining company’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) certificate indicted for the explosion in the Bodija area of the state capital showed some foreign names as owners.
“We are trying to uncover the identities of the people. We’ve done a few fact-findings on the company involved, and yes, there are indeed some foreign names on the company’s CAC documents. But these are still early days. We don’t have anything to cover,” he said.
According to Makinde, security agencies should invite a person of interest the state has identified for interrogation.
“It is not anything that has to do with banditry and insurgency but illegal miners that stored explosives in a residential area,” the governor stated.
He pleaded that the state’s residents should have faith in his administration and that there was no justification for a cover-up.
Makinde announced that he would sign an executive order in the next few days for miners to store explosives with the military and that he would seek presidential clearance for this to happen.
According to the governor, people whose homes were destroyed have been temporarily accommodated in hotels.
Tragedy hit Ibadan when a blast blared in the ancient city on Tuesday.
The state government, in a statement via its X handle, confirmed the explosion, which killed two and injured 77 as of Tuesday.
It urged the state residents to remain calm, adding that security agencies were investigating the incident to determine its cause.
Some sources disclosed to The ICIR that the blast affected some houses and buildings in Old Bodija, Agbowu University of Ibadan, and other parts of the state.
There were also videos online that smoke billowing, with many residents scampering for safety.
A reporter with the ICIR
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