The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, disclosed that preliminary investigations into the Tuesday explosion in Ibadan revealed foreign names in the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) documents of the mining firm responsible for storing the explosives. The explosion resulted in casualties, injuries, and significant property damage in parts of the state capital.
Appearing on Channels TV Politics Today on Wednesday, Governor Makinde pledged to uncover the identities of those involved in the blast. He shared that illegal miners, occupying a house in the Bodija area of Ibadan, stored explosive devices that caused the explosion. The governor emphasized the failure of the neighbourhood association to report the activities of these illegal miners to law enforcement agencies.
Governor Makinde stated, “Yes, we are trying to uncover the identity of the people involved. The company involved, we have done a few fact-finding. And yes, there are indeed some foreign names in the CAC documents of the company involved, but these are still very early days.”
Expressing disappointment in the neighbourhood association’s lapse in reporting suspicious activities, Makinde highlighted the importance of community vigilance. He vowed to take preventive measures, seeking approval from President Bola Tinubu to mandate miners with explosives to store them with the military.
The governor explained, “I will be seeking approval from the President for us in Oyo State to ensure that any mining activity, anybody that has to deal with explosives, take it to storage with the military. And if they need to use it, they go there, collect it, and the military will escort them to where they will use it.”
Governor Makinde assured the public that further information would be provided as the investigation progressed and expressed the intention to sign an executive order to make it mandatory for anyone dealing with explosives in Oyo State to store them with the military.
