The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mustapha Habeeb Ahmed, said that the illegal miners have occupied the scene of the explosion at Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, for over a decade.
Punch Metro reports that about three people have been killed as a result of the explosion that left scores injured and left many houses in ruin.
Speaking on Wednesday while addressing the press in Ibadan, Ahmed cited some documents spotted at the scene of the explosion, suggesting that the people who kept the explosives have been there for years.
Governor Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday night, hours after the explosion, blamed the explosion on the works of some illegal miners.
This is just as Punch Metro cited some unverified documents on social media which suggested that the miners, reportedly from Mali, got approval from some agencies in the state which dates back to 2015.
Speaking on some of the items discovered at the site of the accident, Ahmed said, “From what I can see there, maybe documents or whatever, just personal belongings of the people there. That’s what we can see that is visible. We wouldn’t know exactly what is there. But the most disturbing issue is that those particular people who kept that explosive have been there for a very long time. How come Some people keeping that quantum of explosives over 10 years and nobody has seen anything?”
As search and rescue continues, Ahmed warned that “Regulatory bodies must all sit up. Where we have people keeping piles of explosives in a residential area is not acceptable.”
The NEMA DG also advised residents on the need to make disaster management their businesses, urging them to alert relevant authorities of suspicious activities.
“Disaster management is everybody’s business. If you see something, you say something. If you see something, you say something. We are not on ground zero. We have lost more than 58… About 58 houses are damaged. We have lost about three lives. We don’t know the number of people in the hospital. We are going to the hospital to ascertain. We are working hand in hand with the state government to ascertain the whole situation. But search and rescue is not over. This is the EOC centre. So, the report is still coming in and people are still on site working. But most importantly, we cannot contain whereby people will be going into that area. No, it’s not acceptable.”
He also warned regulatory bodies against a repeat of such, adding that explosive materials of such magnitude is not allowed in residential areas.
“It’s not allowed. It’s not acceptable. It’s not acceptable at all. Regulatory bodies must ensure that nothing like that happens again.”
