No fewer than 100 residential buildings, schools and churches have been destroyed by an explosion suspected to be bomb blast in Akure, Ondo state.
The Herald gathered that many people were injured in the blast which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, March 28.
Reports claim that the many people who lived within the church premises were also injured while some were rescued by the people of the community.
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More Pictures from the Akure Blast pic.twitter.com/CMCfgqABfV
— The Herald (@HeraldNG) March 28, 2020
In a related development, Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State urged residents to steer clear of Saturday’s explosion site at Ilu Abo on the Akure-Owo expressway.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a truck laden with dynamites being transported to Edo from Lagos State had developed a fault and exploded around 1 am.
The governor, who visited the scene of the explosion on Saturday, said the destruction caused by the explosion could only be imagined, advising residents to allow the bomb squad to do its job.
“I have had a thorough briefing from the head of our security agencies and the preliminary reports received was that it was an accidental discharge of explosives that were in transit through Ondo state to another state where it was needed.
“We will advise all citizens, all residents of Ondo State, not to come near this place at all, they should vacate and move out of these premises.
“As we are told, the vehicle that was carrying these explosives is buried in the crater it created, so we never know what number of explosives are left. Let everybody give the police, the bomb squad, space to do their work and we will know what to do,” he said.
He urged residents not to forget that the coronavirus was still raging, urging residents to avoid crowded areas.
“Right here where we are standing, we are not safe, tell the people to move back and allow police to bring out the vehicle that is buried there,” he said.
Earlier, The Herald reported that there was a pandemonium on Saturday morning in Edo Ekiti, Ekiti state when explosion suspected to be bomb rocked buildings on the premises of the old governor’s office.
The old governor’s office located at Oke Ori-Omi area of the Ado Ekiti metropolis is where the Ministry of local government and chieftaincy affairs, is situated.