By Iyabo Adebisi

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state has received the official report of the January 16, 2024 explosion at Adeyi Avenue, Bodija, Ibadan. 

The report, which comprises findings of the Medical, Security and Engineering Teams, was presented to the governor at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.

Addressing newsmen shortly after the presentation of the report, the Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, former Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni said that three persons of interest have been identified in connection with the cause of the unfortunate incident.

Mr Owoseni assured 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.

Mr. Woseni also disclosed that, the character of the explosive is known as a “Water Gel Type Based Explosive” and that the explosion was triggered by an electric spark, noting that a Closed Circuit Television in one of the affected houses gave footage of how the incident happened.

He said: “We have been able to report that the swiftness with which security was deployed to the epi-centre had so far successfully made the state fully secure the environment. And with the security that was provided, the state has also been able to prevent untoward happenings, especially opportunistic crimes that hoodlums always take advantage of such situations to carry out. 

“We would recall that an emergency centre was put in place by the governor and was located at the premises of Oyo State Housing Corporation, Ibadan.

“The EOC has so far collated information, data of things that happened there and some of the data collated include census of the respective houses and the fatalities that were affected including the extent of losses suffered. 

“As of 6 p.m. on Friday, 3rd of February, which was the 18th day of the incident, a total of 335 affected persons registered at the emergency centre including 16 companies or business operators, churches, mosques, three schools and the UCH also approached the centre to report on their losses. 

“The losses reported also include fatality, injuries of various degrees, damages ranging from total collapse and submerging of houses, houses that suffered collateral damage and the ones that suffered minimal damages.”

Also, the chairman, of the Nigeria Institute of Structural Engineers, Mbim Okutinyang, who is also the lead coordinator of the team that carried out structural integrity on the affected houses, said his team covered 282 houses and that only four of the houses would have to be demolished due to the degrees of the damage.

He, however, added that the seismic report was still being awaited.

The Head of the Emergency Operation Centre, Professor Temitope Alonge, said 80 victims in total were managed across various hospitals following the incident but that only five patients were on admission as of the time of the press conference.

He explained that four of the patients are being treated at the University College Hospital, UCH, and are at various levels of recovery, while one patient is at a private Hospital being managed for a spinal cord injury.

Professor Alonge said that most of the cases at UCH will likely be discharged within the next week.

Professor added that some of the affected victims that experienced medical disorders such as respiratory illness had been treated, while those with symptoms suggestive of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are being attended to by clinical psychologists from UCH, led by Mrs Funmi Olowa.

Giving an update on the tests for radioactivity, Alonge said the site of the incident has been cleared in terms of radioactivity, as the EOC invited the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Agency, NNRA, to conduct another screening on Sunday, 4th February and “the good news is that there were no radiations outside of normal.

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