Owoseni was quoted as saying, “Rescue operation is still ongoing. As of yesterday, we had three casualties but this morning, just about 30 minutes ago, I got information from the security operatives supporting the medical team that two more dead bodies were recovered this morning.
The death toll in Tuesday night’s explosion in the Bodija area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital has increased to five as the state government recovered two more lifeless bodies from the scene of the incident on Thursday morning.
This was revealed by Fatai Owoseni, the special adviser on security matters to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State while speaking to newsmen at the scene of the deadly blast, on Thursday, January 18, 2024.
Owoseni was quoted as saying, “Rescue operation is still ongoing. As of yesterday, we had three casualties but this morning, just about 30 minutes ago, I got information from the security operatives supporting the medical team that two more dead bodies were recovered this morning.
“A lot of conversations have been going on, a lot of interfacing with the people so that they will see transparency in what the government is doing.
“The security agencies, especially the police, the DSS being supported by the Nigerian Army team EOD Unit as well are putting the bits and pieces of information together to ensure that discreet information is done towards prosecution to ensure that whoever, either directly, remotely connected with that incident are brought to justice.”
On Tuesday night, a loud bang was heard around the Agbowo, Sango, Orogun and Bodija areas of the city which led to the destruction of houses and lives.
The incident was said to have been caused by explosives stored by illegal miners occupying a house in the Bodija area of the city, according to the state governor, Seyi Makinde.
The victims of the incident who spoke to SaharaReporters on Wednesday described their losses as not measurable.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) also confirmed that over 20 houses and places of residence were affected in the incident.
The agency made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday morning, adding that it had not determined the number of casualties at the time of issuing the statement.