Ibadan Explosion: FEC Sets Up Committee to Review Laws on Explosives 

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has constituted a committee to review the laws guiding the control of explosives in the country.

This move is with the aim of determining whether the extant laws might have been violated by illegal miners in Tuesday night’s deadly explosion in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The council, in its first meeting in 2024 presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja on Wednesday, expressed worries about the incident and expressed the need to avert future occurrence. 

The Minister of Defence, Abubakar Bagudu, who made this known to newsmen at the end of the FEC meeting, noted that despite preliminary investigations suggesting that explosives stored by illegal miners may be the cause, there was also the suspicion in some quarters that gas may have also been the immediate cause of the explosion. 

According to him, federal agents were now on ground at the scene of the incident to ascertain the cause and ways to prevent future occurrence. 

Answering reporters questions on the issue, Bagudu said: “The first question has to do with Ibadan explosion where the governor said that preliminary investigation suggested that there are some explosives around the area where it happened that are owned by some illegal miners. 

“Well, we have seen that report. There is another report suggesting that it was a gas explosion. So, our team are there trying to find out what is the cause.  

“But for the council to be proactive, it has already set up the committee that I told you to look into how the control of explosives law was broken if indeed there are explosives around the area where this incident happened. 

“That was why the committee was set up to look at the rules to see where the chain is broken and see how it can be fixed and gather more information if this is happening rampantly around the country. 

“You all know that there is strict rule in the storage, movement and ownership of these explosives and the rule is being monitored. If there is any case of breakdown, we will find out and deal with it.”