'Explosion Caused By A Vehicle Transporting Explosives' - Governor Akeredolu

Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has claimed that the explosion in some parts of Akure, in the early hours of Saturday March 28, was caused by a vehicle transporting explosives to a nearby state.

The governor who revealed this via his official Twitter account, visited the scene this morning, said that, the security chiefs in the state disclosed to him that the vehicle developed a fault in transit.

His tweets:

I have been briefed by the security chiefs that in the early hours of Saturday March 28th, a vehicle in a convoy transporting explosives to a storage facility in a neighbouring state developed a fault while in transit along the Akure Owo Road about 2km from the Akure Airport.

Security personnel and other individuals transporting the ordinances noticed smoke from the vehicle. After several attempts to extinguish the resulting fire failed, the vehicle and its consignment ignited causing a massive explosion that was felt in Akure and its environs.

Presently, efforts are being made to ascertain if there are casualties. Following my visit to the scene, I have directed that the area be cordoned off to allow the explosive ordinance department/bomb squad to extricate the vehicle buried underground because...

It is unclear if there are still explosives that are yet to be detonated . Everything is under control and I will be updating the public on any new developments. 

I see many people wish this Akure incidence was a meteor. Although the conspiracy theory sounds intriguing, we thank God this wasn't the case, else we would be hearing about multiple impact zones and a lot of fatalities. 

Kudos to the Police for managing the situation well.

I have instructed the State Ministry for Works to commence the rehabilitation of the alternate route, a rural road through Iluabo, due to the importance of the Akure-Owo Road. We will also engage the Federal Government on how to fast track the repair of the damaged portion. 

He later urged residents to maintain social distancing, not to forget  that the coronavirus is still spreading fast in the country.

He said,

“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".

As at the time of filling this report, no casualty had been reported.