Residents of Adeyi Avenue in Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, blamed illegal Malian miners for the explosion that shook the historic city on Tuesday night.
The explosion killed at least three people, injured hundreds more, and destroyed property worth billions of naira.
This comes as President Bola Tinubu called on Wednesday for the relevant government agencies to “fish out” and “punish” those responsible for what he called “reckless behavior” that resulted in a deadly blast in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, on Tuesday night.
This came as Tinubu expressed sadness at the exposion, which he described as “worrisome.”
The explosion killed at least three people and injured more than 80 others, destroying multiple buildings, automobiles, and other property.
A resident of Adeyi Avenue, who simply introduced himself as Apa, told the media in Ibadan on Wednesday that there were no illicit mining sites in the neighborhood.
He did, however, blame the explosion on illegal miners from Mali, a West African country, and suggested that the Federal Government remove illegal miners from the country.
Apa stated that his neighbor agreed with him that the explosion was caused by explosive materials used by Malians for illicit mining.
Recounting his experience, he said, “When I called my neighbor, she said, ‘You remember those Malians?’ There must be equipment they’re using for doing their mining work that must have exploded, and that equipment is not a cheap material. It’s something that’s very heavy.
“If the explosion had happened in Odogbo barracks, then one would say yes; they have all sorts of things there. That thing is not supposed to be kept in this type of environment. And wherever such equipment is kept, it must have under-regulated humidity. Maybe the temperature would have triggered it, and that’s my own suspicion.
“There is nothing like illegal mining here. It’s the miners that live here that brought the equipment, and they are Malians.
“This is a lesson for the Nigerian government to decide whether we still want to keep such people in our country. Malians do a lot of things apart from this; they cause a lot of havoc. The government should start thinking about what to do with them, and if you find out they don’t have the documents to live in this country, you know what to do.”
Speaking to the media after the explosion, Taiwo Salami, another Bodija resident, said, “Many people were killed. We spotted corpses on the street last night (Tuesday). It simply has to end. Not just in Ibadan, but also in Niger, Sokoto, Abuja, and elsewhere.
“There is chaos and disorder in this country. This is not the country everybody wants to live in. This is not the country of our dreams. It’s just ridiculous. Where do people start from? Lives have been lost. Can they be gained back? They cannot! Everybody woke up yesterday thinking this was 2024.
“This is January, for goodness sake. Is this how we are going to start the year? How many more of these do we have in other neighborhoods that we are not even sure of? I’m tired.”
Speaking on the level of damage, he said, “Everything is gone, everything. The whole house is gone. All the vehicles, all the properties—everything is gone.
“In fact, in this whole area, all the houses would have to be demolished. Every single house must be demolished because its structural defects are evident; there are cracks everywhere.
“Everything has to be demolished and probably rebuilt. You’re talking about billions here.”
Meanwhile, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who visited the scene of the explosion, confirmed the casualties and stated that the explosion occurred on Adeyi Avenue in Bodija. However, settlers claim that the bomb was heard and felt kilometers away in several parts of the city.
According to Makinde, preliminary investigations by security authorities revealed that the explosion was caused by illegal miners occupying one of the houses in the Bodija section of the historic city.
Makinde also revealed that the investigation turned up foreign identities in the Corporate Affairs Commission paperwork of the company involved in the Ibadan incident.
During an appearance on Channels TV Politics Today on Wednesday, the governor promised to find out who was behind the bomb.
He added that the explosion highlighted the neighborhood association’s failure to disclose illicit miners’ activity in the region to law enforcement authorities.
“Yes, we are trying to uncover the identities of the people involved. We have done a little fact-finding on the company involved. And yes, there are indeed some foreign names in the CAC documents of the company involved, but these are still very early days. We don’t have any reason to cover anything.
“It is a failure of the neighborhood association because we always admonish our people. If you see something that doesn’t look right, then bring it to the attention of the authorities, and then they will do something about it. So, people in this neighborhood are aware of some of these things. But it was never brought to the attention of the authorities.
To avoid such an occurrence, Makinde stated that he would seek President Bola Tinubu’s consent to compel miners with explosives to keep them in military facilities.
He said “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 iit,and the military will escort them to where they will use it.
