Saturday morning’s explosion at Ogbese near Akure, Ondo State was caused by bombs which detonated while being conveyed to a quarry company in the neighbouring Edo state.
The blast, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday cut off the ever-busy Akure /Owo road while many people were said to be injured.
Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Undie Adie, who briefed journalists at the scene, said the bombs were being moved under escort by men of the Police Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD) before they went of.
He said the explosion was triggered by a fire from the vehicle conveying the bombs. The driver of the truck, noticing fire in the engine managed to park far off from where buildings and people were concentrated. Mr Adie maintained that the explosives were lawfully acquired, and lawfully escorted by men of the police EOD before the unfortunate incident.
He said the unit commander in a report of the incident, had said that the driver noticed that the vehicle was overheating and emitting smoke and they decided to drive to spot along the road where there were no houses and abandoned the vehicle as the fire broke out before the explosion.
Reports suggested that at least 100 houses including a school and a church were destroyed in the explosion which also left a deep crater on the expressway rendering it impassable.
The blast which occurred in the early hours of Saturday cut off the ever-busy Akure /Owo road while many people were said to be injured.
The explosion which happened less than a kilometre to Akure Airport, affected many residents of Eleyowo community, destroying completely a church and a school in the area.
Many people who lived within the church premises were said to be injured while some were rescued by the people of the community. The school with boarding facilities was destroyed beyond repair with roofs of all the buildings blown off.
Reacting to the incident, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, said via Twitter, “I’ve been briefed by security agencies in the state concerning the loud blast that was heard in Akure. I will be at the scene to assess on the advice of heads of our security agencies. I ask that all citizens remain calm as we ascertain details of the incident.”
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