As residents of Bodija in Ibadan and environs continue to count their losses over the devastating explosions which ravaged their communities on Tuesday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo state has demanded thorough investigations with a view to unraveling the cause of the incident and the culprits behind it.
Fear gripped most parts of Ibadan throughout the wee hours of Tuesday and the whole of Wednesday when news filtered in that multiple explosions had occured in some residential areas in the state capital. It was later discovered that the incident claimed some lives while unspecified number of people were critically injured in addition to incalculable damage done to buildings and vehicles.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC queried Governor Seyi Makinde on the efficacy of his efforts on security “when no intelligence report could be obtained on the activities of some custodians of weapons of mass weapons right behind the Office of the governor until they succeeded in destroying lives and properties of the innocent people.
“It was an emergency situation and the whole had been thrown into palpable fear since the social media has been littered with rumours and half truths. So, the governor should have admitted that he failed in the area of security because a proactive and efficient security architecture would not give room for such devastating explosions right behind the Governor’s Office. Who are the illegal miners who live and keep bombs in an high brow area such as Bodija without the knowledge of the powers-that-be?
“The unfortunate incident also exposed the state government as lacking the capacity to offer quick and efficient response to emergency situation because we all saw what happened as only the federal government funded agencies and some private organizations were able to act well to rescue many people who were trapped in the rubbles of collapsed structures. We therefore urge Gov. Makinde prioritize training of officials on emergency and rescue operations, purchase of relevant equipment and fortification of the state Department of Fire Service for obvious reasons.
“As much as we are saddened by the development, we sympathize with all the victims of the disaster especially those who lost their loved ones and others whose valued properties and vehicles got destroyed. Lastly, we call on both the federal government and the PDP administration in the state to carry out independent investigations with a view to getting to the bottom of what led to the lethal explosions as well as those responsible for it and also ensure that all culprits are brought to justice.” Oyo APC stated.
