JUST IN: One Injured As Bomb Explosion Rocks Lagos Market

• Explosive device planted under vehicle in Mushin commercial area detonates on ignition, triggering security response as police declare area safe.

A bomb explosion suspected to have been caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) rocked the Shoe Materials Market in Mushin, Lagos, in the early hours of Monday, June 22, 2026, triggering brief panic among residents and traders. One person sustained injuries in the blast and was taken to a nearby hospital, where they are currently receiving treatment and are in a stable condition. Police Commissioner Fatai Tijani confirmed the incident and assured the public that the situation is under control. The incident occurred at 22, Wey Street in Oke Mushin, where a gold Toyota Sienna with registration number Lagos AAA11FX was parked overnight by a resident who had moved into the area barely three months ago. According to residents, the owner of the vehicle went to start the engine before 6 a.m., likely to leave for work, when the bomb detonated on the passenger side and injured him. The explosion blew out the passenger side of the vehicle, which was later found covered with sheets of transparent polythene taped over the frames, while the body was scorched and smeared with gunpowder. Broken glass still littered the ground beneath the doors.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr. Fatai Tijani, addressed journalists at the scene of the incident on Monday after security operatives conducted a comprehensive sweep of the area. He said the police received information about an explosion and immediately deployed Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) operatives to cordon off and secure the location. “We promptly deployed our EOD team after receiving reports of an explosion. The area was cordoned off and thoroughly searched,” Tijani stated.

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Preliminary findings indicated that the explosion was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device planted under a vehicle parked within the commercial area. The device was placed beneath the passenger side and detonated when the vehicle’s engine was started. “The IED was under the vehicle by the passenger side. It exploded when the vehicle was started,” Tijani explained. After a detailed sweep by EOD experts, no additional explosive devices were discovered in the area. Remnants of the explosive device have been recovered and taken for forensic examination as investigations continue. The victim’s account is being reviewed as part of ongoing investigations, and the police are working to determine who planted the device and why.

The Baale of Oke Mushin Community, Mr. Tajudeen Faronbi, told journalists that the incident occurred in the early hours of Monday while he was observing his morning prayers. “Early this morning, around one o’clock, while I was praying, I received a call that something unusual had been seen. When I got there, I saw a vehicle and people were afraid to go near it,” Faronbi said. He immediately contacted the Area Commander and other security authorities, who quickly mobilised officers to the scene. About 35 police operatives were deployed to secure the area, with additional backup units drafted in to ensure order and prevent residents from approaching the scene. Faronbi said the swift response helped to calm tensions and prevent what could have escalated into panic within the community.

Tijani urged residents, traders, and other members of the public to remain calm and resume normal activities, stressing that the situation had been brought under control. He also cautioned against rumours suggesting widespread insecurity in Lagos, describing such claims as false and misleading. The police boss reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property across the state and warned criminal elements to stay away from Lagos. The identity and ownership of the vehicle involved in the explosion remain unclear, as residents were unable to confirm who parked it or its purpose. The Baale noted that he had no prior information about the vehicle’s owner, only that the car had been parked in the area for two to three months.

JUST IN: One Injured As Bomb Explosion Rocks Lagos Market

Police Reject Ransom Talks for Abducted Oyo Schoolchildren, Vow Safe Rescue

• DIG Adegoke Fayoade says security agencies working ’round the clock’ to free 46 pupils and teachers taken in Oriire LGA attack.

The Nigeria Police Force has firmly ruled out any form of ransom negotiation for the release of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oyo State, insisting that rescue efforts remain the sole priority. The declaration came on Monday, June 22, 2026, from South-West Coordinating Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, during an official working visit to the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters in Ikeja. Addressing reports of ransom demands by the abductors, Fayoade stated categorically that the police do not engage in such discussions. “We don’t know anything about ransom because we don’t talk about ransom. All efforts are directed towards getting the abductees freed safely,” he said. He added that multiple security agencies and government authorities are coordinating operations to secure the victims’ release “within the shortest possible time.”

Fayoade explained that his visit to Lagos was part of efforts to strengthen supervision across police commands in the South-West and assess strategies for addressing emerging security threats. He identified manpower shortage, personnel welfare, and operational logistics as some of the major concerns affecting effective policing, adding that observations from the visit would be forwarded to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Olatunji Disu, for further action and policy direction. He also confirmed that the recruitment of 40,000 police personnel had commenced.

Fayoade assured Nigerians that security forces are intensifying efforts to rescue the abducted pupils and their teachers, who were taken during an attack on schools in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15, 2026. The attack, which also claimed the life of a mathematics teacher, sparked widespread concern and renewed calls for stronger security measures across the state. “All agencies, including government, are working very hard, and I can assure you that within the shortest possible time, those children and their teachers will be free,” Fayoade said. He noted that the police were investing in technology, data management, and intelligence-led operations, with a data centre at Force Headquarters being completed and officers set to begin courses on the use of Artificial Intelligence in investigations.

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Security sources have indicated that sustained military pressure on the forest where the victims are being held has forced the abductors, suspected to be members of the Ansaru terrorist group, to relax some of their initial demands. The kidnappers had earlier demanded the release of key Ansaru leaders in custody, payment of ransom, provision of two Hilux vehicles, and the implementation of Sharia-related conditions. Sources disclosed that the terrorists are no longer insisting on freeing two prominent Ansaru commanders—Mahmud Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar) and his deputy, Abubakar Abba (alias Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri)—who were arrested by the Department of State Services last year. The forest where the victims are believed to be held stretches from the Oyo National Park to parts of Kainji in Niger State, and security forces have tightened surveillance around the area.

Multiple security sources revealed that troops and other security personnel involved in the rescue operation have surrounded a hideout within the National Park forest area, where the abducted pupils and teachers are believed to be held. According to security sources, the terrorists have been “effectively contained within the forest,” with security operatives blocking possible escape routes and restricting their movement with the hostages. Investigators believe the leader of the kidnapping gang is a northerner who was born in Ogbomoso and grew up in the Oriire area, giving him familiarity with the terrain. “It is possible that he ran from Kogi when the heat was turned on them before moving to the kidnap of soft targets in Oriire and its environs, which he is familiar with having spent his early life there,” a security source added.

Following mounting pressure and the likelihood of capture, the terrorists have reportedly resorted to desperate tactics, including the recent killing of one of the abducted teachers, apparently in an attempt to blackmail authorities and halt the ongoing rescue operation. The abduction, which involved 39 pupils and six teachers (a seventh teacher was reportedly killed), has left families in anguish as they await news of their loved ones. Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde recently disclosed that a Nigerian Army lieutenant was killed during rescue operations aimed at securing the release of the victims. Addressing protesters in Ibadan, Makinde assured residents that Oyo State would not witness a repeat of the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, promising that authorities were deploying every available resource to resolve the crisis.

For now, security agencies continue to pursue an intelligence-driven rescue operation, while the government insists on a firm stance against ransom payments. The coming days will be critical in determining the fate of the abducted pupils and teachers. Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said the government would continue to restrict public comments on the operation in order to avoid compromising efforts to secure the safe release of the abducted pupils and teachers.

Police Reject Ransom Talks for Abducted Oyo Schoolchildren, Vow Safe Rescue