By Mosope Kehinde
Oyo State House of Assembly has appealed to security agencies to embark on intelligence gathering to identify residences of illegal miners or expatriates who may be storing Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in other areas in the State.
The appeal followed a matter of urgent public importance raised on the floor by the member representing Ibadan North constituency 2, Mr Babajide Gabriel in reaction to Tuesday’s Explosion in Ibadan.
The House also resolved that the Security Agencies should condone off the scene of the incident and search the area for possible leftover of the explosives
Mr Babajide said there was a need for all regulatory agencies to enforce safety precautions, especially in handling and storing explosives, calling for a thorough investigation into the incident and bringing the culprits to book, no matter how highly placed, to serve as a lesson to others.
Other lawmakers, who spoke on the matter, expressed the need to address the rising number of filling stations and gas Plants constructed in residential areas
“The House notes that a devastating explosion occurred at Adeyi Area of Old Bodija in Ibadan, the State capital on Tuesday 16th January 2024 at around 7.45 pm. The incident left scores of residents injured and claimed the lives of three people according to information reeled out by officials of the Oyo State Government.
“Further notes that the impact and effect of the explosion was felt 15km apart as iIt affected residential buildings at , Sango, Apete, Ologuneru, Samonda, Eleyele, Bashorun, Ashi, Mokola among others as well as Ministries, Departments and Agencies at the State Secretariat, Ibadan.
“Further aware that preliminary investigations by security agents suggested that the incident was caused by explosive devices stored in the area by suspected illegal miners. There are so many questions begging for answers. Who authorized the keeping or storing of the devices in the house? Where and how were the dynamites stored in the said building? How long had the dynamites been kept in the area? For what purpose(s) were the devices kept or stored? What were the safety measures put in place to avert a potential blast? Was there regular inspection to ascertain any sign of deterioration, damage or malfunction? Were the security agents aware of the development? Why would someone keep such an amount of dynamite in a residential area? How are we sure that all the dynamites have exploded? If not, are we not indirectly waiting for another disaster to happen?
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