The Nation Newspaper

Tag: explosion

  • Two injured as explosions rock Kano

    It was yet another tragedy, as explosives, allegedly primed in a fun spot in a densely populated Badawa area of the ancient city of Kano exploded Friday night , injuring two persons.

    According to police sources and some residents of Agangara, where the explosions occurred, it also destroyed properties, which value could not be ascertained as the time of filing this report.

    The Kano state commissioner of police, Mr Musa Daura,h who confirmed the incident said no deaths were recorded in the attack but did not volunteer further information on the blast, which occurred at about 9:30pm.

    Spokesman of the Military-led Joint Task Force, Captain Ikedichi Iweha, said he was waiting for details from the field officers before issuing any official comment on the blast.

    “We are tidying things and as soon as we are done, I will call you people,” he said

    It was gathered that the suspected bombers, who escaped after the attack, allegedly planted the remote controlled Improvised Explosives Device (IEDs) inside the drinking joint earlier and later detonated them.

    Some residents affirmed that three huge explosions were heard in the direction of the (JTF) check-point, which may also have been target of the attack in the area, which is predominantly inhabited by non natives,

    The insurgency in Kano has prompted house-to-house head count of residents by the state government.

    Entitled “House Numbering and Street Naming Data Form, 2013, all residents in the troubled town are expected to fill the form and return same to the relevant authorities.

    The two-page document requires information on residential address, Local Government Area, village, ward, name of owner of house, tribe, religion, occupation, local council of origin and number of family members’.

  • Two dead, 23 wounded in US marathon blast

    Two dead, 23 wounded in US marathon blast

    At least two people were killed and 23 others wounded when two explosions struck near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday in United States.

    Police according to agency report  did not immediately confirm  whether the explosions were part of a terrorist attack, but marathon organizers said it was a twin bombing and media outlets reported that other unexploded devices had been found nearby.

    The blasts left the streets littered with blood and debris, as paramedics raced off with stretchers and police locked down the area, according to witnesses, one of whom saw a man with his lower limbs blown off.

    Boston police confirmed the toll of dead and wounded on its Twitter feed.

    “There were two bombs that exploded near the finish line in today’s Boston Marathon,” race organizers said on the event’s Facebook page, without providing a source for the information.

    “We are working with law enforcement to understand what exactly has happened,” it said.

    NBC News, citing officials, later reported that police had found “multiple explosive devices” in Boston.

     

  • Tribunal on Lagos explosion set to sit

    The Tribunal of Inquiry set up by the Lagos State Government to look into the December 26, 2012 fire and explosion that rocked Ojo-Giwa and Okoya areas of Lagos Island and destroyed property and houses worth several millions of naira, will begin sitting on April 8.

    Justice Sunday Oladokun Ishola (rtd) who chairs the tribunal, disclosed yesterday at the inaugural sitting of the tribunal held at the Council Chambers of the Lagos City Hall, said it has three months to complete its assignment and submit its report to the government.

    The state governor, Babatunde Fashola, had, as part of his administration’s commitment to protecting lives and property in the state, inaugurated the three-member tribunal on February 18.

    Other members of the tribunal are: Engineer Olokunola Olatunde Wasiu, a Special Adviser in the Office of Infrastructure and Asset Management of Lagos State; Mr. Richard Ahonaruogho, founding secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Legal Practice (SLP), and Mrs. Olubunmi Fagbayi, Chief State Counsel (DLD) and Secretary to the tribunal.

    Justice Ishola said the sittings will be by public hearing that will hold between 10am and 4pm daily between Mondays to Thursdays, and in rare cases, on Fridays, when situations demand.

    According to him, the panel is to investigate the recent explosion and fire outbreak in the state.

    The tribunal, he said, will later advise government on whether it is legal for knockouts to be kept, sold or used in residential areas.

    Justice Ishola stated that the panel has the power to summon any witness that it considered fit and in position to shed light on happenings that led to the explosion.

    He urged witnesses to tender original copies of their documents which will immediately be returned to owners after perusal.

    Ishola also allayed their fear that anything could happen to witnesses who comes out to give testimonies.

    He assured that witnesses are protected by the law, adding that it is only those who give false information that has cause to fear.

    He said that the tribunal is to inquire into the remote and immediate causes of the fire incident which occurred when fireworks allegedly stored in a building at 45, Ojo-Giwa Street, Idumota, Lagos, exploded, causing fire outbreak and destroying lives and property of residents and traders at the Jankara Market.

  • Explosion in Lagos

    Explosion in Lagos

    A sand dredger was killed in a Lagos explosion on Monday.

    The explosion occurred under the bridge linking Amuwo Odofin Housing Estate and FESTAC Town in Lagos.

    Report says a policeman was also injured in the blast.

    The deceased,Oladele Pius,  according to report was the chairman of the sand dredgers operating under the bridge.

    Though the cause of the explosion could not be readily ascertained, report says the policeman’s leg was shattered by the blast.

    The scene of the explosion has since been cordoned –off by security operatives.

     

    Caption: The injured victim of the blast on Monday. Photo: Precious Ijeoma

     

  • Two killed in Ebonyi kerosine explosion

    Two siblings, Favour Nwaonu (two years) and her sister, Rejoice (nine months) have been killed in a kerosine explosion, which razed their parents’ eight-bedroom bungalow.

    Their mother, Victoria and a maid, who were injured in the inferno and are receiving treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

    According to their father, Oliver, the incident occurred at 7pm in his village, Inikiri Effum, in Ohaukwu Local Government.

    Oliver described the incident as unfortunate and disheartening, saying the inferno was caused by the adulterated kerosine bought by his wife.

    He said: “We have had power outage in Inikiri Effum for some time now and most people use lanterns.

    “That evening, my wife bought some kerosine and as she was pouring it into the lantern, there was an explosion.

    “The fire spread to the room and smoke filled the house.

    “While she was burning, she tried to rescue our two little children, who were on the bed.

    “But she could not because she was in flames herself. The maid tried to help but couldn’t. She was in flames herself.

    “By the time people could put out the fire, the children had been burnt . That was how I lost my two children and all I have worked for.”

    Governor Martin Elechi and his wife, Josephine, visited the family.

    Elechi described the children’s death as unfortunate. He urged the family to take heart.

    The governor warned against bush burning during the harmattan.

  • 30 pipeline vandals feared dead in Lagos explosion

    30 pipeline vandals feared dead in Lagos explosion

    About 30 persons believed to  be pipeline vandals were burnt to death yesterday at Arepo off the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway  in the latest attack  by  vandals on NNPC pipelines.

    The fire which started at about 2am behind the community raged for much of yesterday.

    The police said it  was sparked by an argument among the vandals over who should first  siphon oil from a ruptured pipeline.

    “It was in the heat of the argument that one of them accidentally released a bullet that led to several explosions,” the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in-charge of the Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism, Mr. Friday Ibadin,  said yesterday.

    The explosions woke up many residents of the area and attracted the attention of the police with a team of policemen led by the sector commander, Lagos, DSP Onaghise Osayande, storming  the scene and cordoned off the area to avert more danger.

    Several other vandals were injured.

    The police arrested six suspects including an  injured vandal along with a medical doctor  who was said to be taking him away for treatment.

    Mr.Ibadin said: “ In the course of interrogation, we discovered that the survivor was one of those who participated in the killing of those NNPC officials last year.

    “The taskforce arrested six suspected vandals who were alleged to have participated in the incident that led to the killing of three Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) staff at Arepo.”

    The police are on the trail of other vandals who escaped from the scene.

    Fire fighters were  battling the inferno at press time.

    The injured  suspect, who gave his name as  Reuben,  said a lot of his colleagues were killed in the explosion.

    Narrating how he got involved ,he said: “I was in my house when Suleiman my friend called me that there was   a job at Arepo creeks. He asked me to look for a canoe and come with as many gallons as I could carry.

    “Shortly after I arrived I saw some people arguing while some where fighting before I heard a gun shot. The next thing was an explosion. I was lucky that I wasn’t close to the ruptured pipeline. It was the heat of the fire that affected me. I managed to run to my boat where my mother was waiting. Iya Olabode called a doctor who was about taking me to the hospital when we were arrested by the police.”

    Asked  about the number of  vandals at the time of the fire outbreak, Reuben said: “There were so many of us, men and women. We  were  more than 50 persons over there and most of them are still inside that fire. Most of them are still in the creeks dying, please help them.”’

    The medical doctor, (name withheld), said he  simply acted according to his oath to protect life. He claimed that he was invited by his client, Iya Olabode, to attend to a patient in her house at Abule Oba, Ikorodu area of Lagos.

    He said: “I have been a family doctor to Iya Olabode for the past three years. So, when she called me that there was an emergency, I quickly rushed to her house where I saw Reuben badly burnt. I advised her that we should take the man to my clinic for better treatment. We were on our way when the police accosted us.”

    He  claimed that he did not  remember to ask the patient how he sustained the burns. “I forgot to ask him because I was in a hurry to save his life. I never knew that he could be a vandal because Iya Olabode is a good and respectable business woman. I am terribly sorry; I was only trying to save life.”

    However,when the doctor  was given an opportunity to call Iya Olabode  by phone to corroborate  what he told the police the woman simply said: “Doctor, I don’t know what you are talking about. I only asked you to come and treat a patient and make money. You want me to come and also be arrested because I allowed a pipeline vandal to stay in my house.”

    She  then switched off her line.

    Meanwhile,   scarcity of fuel looms in Lagos and Ogun States as  the NNPC has  stopped the flow of PMS through  Arepo pipeline pending  the repair of the  ruptured pipeline.

  • Tank farm explosion: Lawmaker calls on FG to relocate tank farms from Apapa

    With the outbreak of fire at a tank farm in Apapa on Wednesday, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Apapa 1 constituency, Hon. Mufutau Egberonbe, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to, as a matter of urgency, relocate tank farms, which are sited in Apapa to other parts of the state.

    Egberongbe made the call while reacting  to the fire incident that broke out at the MRS depot  located in Kirikiri-Apapa seaport on Wednesday causing panic in the area.

    “Apapa is choked up right now and we can’t continue to have more of tank farms when those ones there should be relocated to fallow lands. We have lands in Ibeju-Lekki and Badagry axis and if they can be relocated to these areas, it will open up development in those places,” he said.

  • Lagos explosion: One killed, 15 injured

    Lagos explosion: One killed, 15 injured

    The National Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday said one person died and 15 others were injured in a fireworks-induced explosion at a warehouse in Jankara market in Lagos.

    It said the main victim was burnt beyond recognition.

    The agency gave an update in a statement in Abuja by its Head of Public Relations Division, Alhaji Yushau Shuaib.

    The statement said: “The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed a powerful explosion that occurred this morning in Lagos from a building suspected to be loaded with ‘knockouts’ brands of fireworks that are usually used during festive periods.

    “The explosion which further triggered fire outbreaks within the neighboring environments occurred from a building suspected to be a warehouse for storage of electrical items at Jankara Market by Adeniji Adele in Lagos Island Local Government Council of Lagos State.

    “Although the Search and Rescue Officers had hectic time to reach the densely populated area due to heavy traffic and crowds, other response agencies and volunteers mobilized were able to control the fire incidents in area with supports from residents.

    “So far one human-body that was burnt beyond recognition had been recovered from the rubble of exploded area in Lagos as reported earlier.

    “The recovery was made when search and rescue officers were working at the scene.

    “The fire incident was triggered by suspected fireworks stored in presumed warehouse in Lagos Island. At least 15 people were treated for injuries sustained mostly from stampede during the explosion.

    “The explosion was not suspected to be a deliberate attack to cause confusion as security agencies have commenced their investigations.”

     

     

    Caption – The scene of the explosion on Wednesday. Photo: BBC

     

     

     

     

  • Police, NEMA: no bomb explosion in Abuja

    The police and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday dismissed the rumour of a bomb explosion at a shopping complex in Lokogoma, a settlement in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Force spokesman Frank Mba, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), told reporters in Abuja that the rumour was false.

    Mba said no bomb explosion was reported in or around the FCT.

    According to him, investigation by security operatives revealed that only a fire occurred at the shopping complex.

    He added: “It is unfortunate that some people have gone to town to report that it was an explosion; it was a mere fire outbreak at a shopping complex in Lokogoma.

    “Reports reaching us showed that the fire, triggered by an electrical fault, started from a laundry shop at the shopping complex.

    “It was also said that part of the building was razed and there was a big sound. The sound that caused the false alarm came from the compressor of the air conditioning system at the shop.”

    The Force spokesman also said nobody died in the incident, though the property in parts of the building were destroyed.

    He urged FCT residents to disregard the rumour and move on with their legitimate businesses without fear.

     

  • Two dead, property razed in Ebonyi fuel tanker explosion

    Two persons have been confirmed dead and property worth millions of naira destroyed at Ntezi Amuzu community in Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State when a diesel-laden petroleum tanker fell and exploded on the Ntezi Amuzu axis of the Abakaliki-Afikpo Expressway.

    An eyewitness, Mr. Emeka Nwafor, named the dead as 70-year-old man Felix Mgabda and Mrs. Migrate Nworie.

    He said a fashion designer, Mr. Thomas Mkpuma, was injured and is receiving treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital in Abakaliki.

    According to him, three buildings, two shops, two motorcycles and other property were destroyed when the tanker caught fire.

    Nwafor said the driver of the tanker, with registration number (Cross River) XA574CAL, was trying to avoid a bad spot on the road when he lost control.

    He said the tanker was conveying diesel from a neighbouring state to Abakaliki when it skidded off the road.

    The eyewitness explained that the plastic cover on the tanker burst out, throwing diesel all over the place. This was followed by an explosion.

    Nwafor said: “The incident happened at 4.30pm on Saturday when most of the people were at home resting.

    “The tanker was trying to avoid a bad spot on the road. We watched the driver trying to control the tanker, but unfortunately, the tank disengaged from the tanker and fell down. The plastic cover on the tank burst out, throwing diesel all over the place.”

    “Regrettably, Mrs. Migrate Nwaorie, who was cooking in the house, ran into the raging fire outside. Mr. Felix Mgabda was sitting in front of the house. He was caught by the inferno. Though he was rushed to the hospital, but he died later.

    “We are praying fervently that, Mr. Mkpuma, who is receiving treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital, will survive. We urge the government to transfer him to the University Teaching Hospital (UNTH) in Enugu for a better treatment.”

    The Chairman Ezza South Local Government Area, Mr. Lazarus Ogbee said the council was liaising with the Federal Teaching Hospital in Abakaliki to transfer affected patient to the University Teaching Hospital (UNTH) in Enugu.

    Ogbee promised that the council would assist the families of the deceased and other victims to alleviate their suffering.

    The council chief urged the contractor handling the road to accelerate its completion to avert accidents during this Yuletide period.