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Ibadan explosion: About N50b properties lost as govt ends rescue operation

Ibadan explosion: About N50b properties lost as govt ends rescue operation
About N50 billion worth of properties may have been lost and reduced to rubble after last Tuesday’s explosion in Ibadan, Oyo State, which killed five persons, injured 77 and rendered thousands homeless, some estate valuers have estimated.
Conservative estimates from estate valuers and cost consultants show that residents may have lost properties so much to the explosion. With about 230 houses claimed to have been affected by the explosion, valuers note that at N150 million per building, a conservative estimate of N34.5 billion would have been arrived at, while other critical infrastructure and vehicles would account for the balance.
This is coming after the Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, disclosed at the weekend that a structural integrity test has been conducted on no fewer than 230 houses affected by the explosion.
While speaking at the Nigerian Society of Engineers investiture in Abuja, Makinde noted that the test included plans to resettle affected residents and avert a possible collapse of buildings.
“These past few days have been tough for the indigenes of Oyo State. We had an explosion and lost five lives and a lot of properties were destroyed.
“Between Tuesday and today (Saturday), the Society of Engineers led an effort to look at the structural integrity of the houses around ground zero of the explosion site and as of today, they have carried out integrity tests on 13 houses within 50 metres radius of the blast site, another 40 houses at 100 meters radius.
“They also carried out an integrity test at 200 metres on 122 houses and 53 houses within a 250-metre radius. In total, about 230 houses have been checked and this effort was led by the society. I sincerely thank you for helping us during this difficult time.”
The experts opined that it is at best still a rough estimate as going by ethics of the profession, the actual cost cannot be arrived at until estate valuers see all documents of the properties affected.
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The state government at the weekend disclosed that it has concluded rescue operations on the site of the explosion, while adding that the site is now being fumigated.
According to a source at the Governor’s Office, the state government has concluded operations at the scene of the incident, adding that what the various emergency responders are doing at the site now is fumigation exercise.
Barring last minute change, a Federal Government delegation will be visiting the Old Bodija scene of the explosion today. According to a source, the team will include the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu among other top government functionaries.
The visit will be for an on-the-spot assessment of the incident, its impact which will guide the Federal Government to making a decision on what form of support and palliative that would be made available for the victims and residents.
Preliminary investigations fingered dynamite stored up by illegal miners as the immediate cause of the explosion. As at press time, no arrest had been made as search and rescue efforts have been concluded.
A visit to the explosion site at Adeyi Avenue, Old Bodija, by The Guardian revealed that properties along Dejo Oyelese Street, Canon Odusanwo Street, Rev Aderinola Street and others were badly damaged while some were irreparably mangled. The explosion also affected some structures at the state government secretariat, University College Hospital (UCH), among many other adjoining areas.
Describing the loss as colossal while assessing the depth of the damage, the Oyo State chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Pastor Oluseyi Adebayo, said the loss would be difficult to quantify. The same sentiment was also shared by a lecturer at the Estate Management Department of Lead City University, Mr. Adewale Adedokun, adding that the properties destroyed were enormous and run into billions of Naira.
Adebayo said: “To do a comprehensive valuation of property, we need authorisation from the government and owners of such property. Some documents need to be made available to the valuers. However, we can do an on-the-spot assessment. We may not be able to do a comprehensive valuation but a rough estimate. The properties lost to the incident in that community alone are in trillions of Naira. It is a highbrow area. The cost of property in the area is huge. Again, many cars, electronic appliances and other household goods were destroyed, besides other personal effects.”
For Adedokun: “To say the fact, assets worth more than a trillion naira have been destroyed, considering the high yielding neighbourhood, assets are not only limited to the land and buildings, but it also includes land, buildings, furniture, fittings, jewelry, automobiles, household appliances, and personal properties.
“These are categorised as economic value. What of social and cultural value, environmental value, emotional and psychological values that are intangible and cannot be quantified in monetary terms. In addition, how can we ascribe value to the lives that were lost in the explosion? In summary, the value of assets lost in the explosion are enormous.”
Adebayo, Adedokun and other estate valuers and investment analysts have urged the government to conduct integrity tests for all buildings within the neighbourhood.
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Others who spoke with The Guardian are the Managing Director, Southwest Housing Exhibition, Dr Olayemi Rotimi-Shodimu; a NIESV Fellow, Fisayo Alo; and the immediate past chairman of NIESV in Oyo State, Solomon Bamidele Faloye.
They also called on the government to engage all relevant professionals to critically analyse the environmental impacts of the blast on humanity and the ecosystem, adding that a review of mining laws concerning keeping of explosives is expedient.
Faloye said it is necessary to conduct an integrity test on all the properties as many foundations have been shaken and may now have cracks leading to collapse afterwards.
Adewale, a lecturer, said: “Government needs to formulate a policy that will mandate every property owner to take life and property insurance policies like that of vehicles. The state government had taken proactive steps in ensuring that lives of injured people were secured and homeless residents accommodated in hotels at the expense of the government.
“Furthermore, the government should engage the services of professionals to analyse the incident to come up with robust reports and recommendations on how to move forward post-explosion effect. The professionals should involve built environment experts to look into the causes, extent of damage to properties around the incident site, assess the worth of the lost assets, determine compensation payable in terms of finance or redevelopment, and fish out the culprit responsible for the explosion.
“Also, experts should carry out impact assessment and integrity tests on the properties within the 500 metres radius from the centre, the environmental pollution, that is air and water. This will ensure safety of lives and properties in the long run. Hence, there is a need for experts to let us know the type and nature of the explosive. We pray it doesn’t have killer components like uranium.”
As victims of last Tuesday’s explosion continue to count their losses, a former director of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Dr. Olusegun Edward Ojo, yesterday, tasked security agencies, Federal Government and Oyo State government not to limit investigations into the explosives and dynamites of a resident miner as the cause of the incident.
While commending Governor Makinde for his prompt response to the explosion, he emphasised the need to widen the scope of the investigation to discover the immediate and remote causes of the explosion.
Ojo, who is former director of NEMA in charge of relief and rehabilitation, in a statement hinted that “with the massive extent of the devastation; it is very critical that other much more intricate findings on the remote and immediate causes of this incident are embarked upon to prevent a repeat of this anywhere in Oyo State or Nigeria in general.
“I visited the explosion site on Friday for the second time to see what activities were going on and to possibly lend my experience to the process. My interest was fuelled by the fact that I had spent a very good part of my active service life until recently in local and international humanitarian interventions such as the Ikeja ammunition bomb blast of 2002; the Bellview and the Sosoliso plane crashes in 2005; and part of the 2010 Haiti earthquake humanitarian intervention. I was also the National Focal Person on UNDRR’s proactive paradigm in Disaster Risk Reduction.
“I reckon that epidemiological, sanitation and health management were also ongoing to prevent the spread of diseases. But we cannot and must not just simply conclude and go to sleep that the Dejo Oyelese explosion incident was caused by explosives in the premises of the Malian miners.
“This is because of the unimaginable magnitude of the material devastation and loss of lives. We should think out of the box and search widely for other possibilities and consequences given the perennial act of terrorism in the country; and even for remote terrestrial astronomical possibilities as being speculated in some quarters.
“This incident is indeed a good opportunity to learn new lessons, and to reexamine and rejig our community/state-wide security architecture; the not-too-salutary environmental and town planning practices/approvals of incompatible land uses in the city of Ibadan.
“For example, petrol and cooking gas filling stations are located close to business concerns and dense residential areas in some parts of the city without due consideration for possible explosions, fire incidents, and other hazard risk implications,” he noted.
Ibadan explosion: About N50b properties lost as govt ends rescue operation
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What Trump should do to stop killing of innocent people in Nigeria, others – Ex-minister

What Trump should do to stop killing of innocent people in Nigeria, others – Ex-minister
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has advised United States President, Donald Trump, on various steps to take stop the killing of innocent Nigerians and other people across the world.
In a statement posted on his verified Facebook page on Sunday, Fani-Kayode criticized U.S. foreign policy, alleging that American agencies fund terrorism in Nigeria while simultaneously imposing sanctions.
He stated: “First you confess that #USAID is funding Boko Haram, ISWAP, and other terrorist organisations in Nigeria, and now you say you want to impose sanctions on us for the very same terrorist activities that your USAID is funding.
“It appears that you Yankees are as confused as the autumn morning and a victim of your own obsession for power and control.”
Fani-Kayode further outlined actions he believes the U.S. should take to ensure global peace, including halting financial corruption, ending foreign wars, and holding American political figures accountable.
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“If you want the killing of innocent people to stop in Nigeria or elsewhere and if you truly desire world peace then get rid of your monumental appetite for money laundering, thievery, misappropriation of public funds, stealing, and corruption through contrived and premeditated foreign wars and conflicts,” he said.
He also urged the U.S. to reconsider its stance on Israel and its involvement in global conflicts, stating: “Stop supporting and funding the genocide in #Gaza and turmoil in the Middle East, stop giving Israel a free pass on all her atrocities, bring peace to Ukraine and reign in #NATO, get rid of Zelensky, build bridges with Russia, desist from troubling the #EU, stay in your lane, mind your business and stop interfering in the affairs of other countries.”
Fani-Kayode concluded by calling for sweeping reforms in the U.S. government, including jailing several prominent American figures, dismantling the “Deep State,” and releasing classified files related to historical events.
“Do all these things, and not only will your country become a better place, but peace will return to the world,” he added.
What Trump should do to stop killing of innocent people in Nigeria, others – Ex-minister
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FG refutes US Congress claim of terrorists targeting Nigeria’s Christians

FG refutes US Congress claim of terrorists targeting Nigeria’s Christians
The federal government has dismissed claims that Christians are being deliberately targeted for killings in parts of Nigeria, describing such assertions as misinformation designed to pressure the international community into designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
This stance was outlined in a statement issued by Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who attributed the narrative to “fifth columnists” seeking to misrepresent the country’s security situation.
Former Interior Minister and retired military general, Abdulrahman Dambazau, also strongly refuted the claims made by the US Congress regarding religious persecution, arguing that Muslims—particularly in the northern regions—are disproportionately affected by the ongoing security crisis.
The statements come in response to US Congressional hearings and potential sanctions initiated under former President Donald Trump, following reports of increasing attacks on Christians in Nigeria.
In its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep concern over what it described as misleading reports, stating:
“While the federal government acknowledges the security challenges confronting the nation, it is imperative to clarify that these negative activities are not driven by religious bias, nor targeted against any particular religious group.”
The ministry stressed that insurgency and banditry in predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria do not single out any faith for attack. It added that portraying the situation as Christian persecution is “erroneous and misleading.”
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The government reiterated its commitment to safeguarding all Nigerians regardless of religion, ethnicity, or gender, and emphasized that the country’s security issues are complex, involving criminal activities, terrorism, and communal clashes—including farmer-herder conflicts—which are not rooted in religious discrimination.
The statement further highlighted efforts by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to tackle insecurity, including the deployment of security forces, intelligence operations, and community engagement strategies. It noted progress made in curbing banditry and insurgency and the establishment of a Ministry of Livestock Development to address tensions between farmers and pastoralists.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to verify information before drawing conclusions that could inflame tensions within Nigeria.
“We call on all stakeholders, including the media, civil society organizations, and foreign partners, to refrain from spreading unverified claims that could undermine national unity and stability.
In a related development, Dambazau criticized the US Congress for mischaracterizing Nigeria’s security challenges, insisting that Muslims in the North have borne the brunt of violence.
“The US Congress got it wrong,” he asserted. “While it’s true that churches and Christian pastors have been attacked, mosques and Islamic clerics have not been spared. The vast majority of victims, especially in the Northeast, are Muslims.”
He pointed to Zamfara State, where he said 99% of the population is Muslim, yet violent attacks occur almost weekly.
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Dambazau also criticized figures such as Bishop Matthew Kukah, accusing them of presenting an inaccurate and divisive picture of the conflict.
“It is not about religion,” he said. “It is about the fact that these victims are Nigerians, and they require protection against these horrible people. They make it look as if it is a systemic issue, that maybe the government is coming out, as a matter of policy, to persecute these people. That is wrong.”
He further argued that data indicates that the most affected regions, such as the Northeast and Northwest, have predominantly Muslim populations.
“Reports of mass killings and kidnappings in these regions often involve Muslim victims. While precise statistics are difficult to obtain due to the fluid nature of the conflict, reports consistently highlight that Muslim communities are heavily impacted.”
Dambazau urged the US Congress to adopt a more nuanced view of Nigeria’s security crisis, warning that imposing sanctions based on an incomplete understanding of the conflict could have serious consequences.
Quoting a post from his X handle @mypd2020, he wrote:
“To impede the progress of a country like Nigeria has been made easy mainly by using the religious and ethnic fault lines.The idea that insurgency and banditry are targeting only Christians is unfortunate. The same US Congress recently said that USAID is the main sponsor of Boko Haram and other terrorist organizations.The question is, who is killing the Muslims and displacing them in their thousands and millions? Is it a USAID project, or those making the false accusations, or both? Nigerians should learn to approach and solve their problems while the US solves theirs, otherwise, we remain in perpetual stagnation.”
FG refutes US Congress claim of terrorists targeting Nigeria’s Christians
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Plot to impeach Fubara thickens

Plot to impeach Fubara thickens
The political camp of the Rivers state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara was again pushed into a deeper trench by the decision of the state House of Assembly to probe the alleged age falsification of the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Simeon Amadi.
At its 135th legislative sitting, the House resolved to write to the Department of the State Service, DSS, to investigate the CJ following allegations against him by the Leader of the House, Hon Major Jack.
The House agreed that falsification of age was a “serious offence” but the allegation must be confirmed and doing so, the CJ has to be thoroughly investigated to establish the authenticity of the allegation.
Responding to this development, the Speaker, Rt. Hon Martins Amaewhule said by section 128 of the constitution, the House is empowered to investigate the allegation but quickly accused Governor Fubara of barring heads of ministries, departments and agencies from appearing before the House.
Remember that Justice Amadi was screened to become the Chief Judge of the state about three years when Wike was a governor. Unconfirmed report has it that Amadi, who hails from the same Ikwerre ethnic nationality with Wike, turned down alleged N5 billion gratification and tastefully furnished houses in London and America to ditch the governor and clear the grounds for his eventual impeachment.
Commenting on the CJ’s ordeal, Hon Ogbonna Nwuke, former House of Representatives member in the 7th National Assembly said the action of the Assembly members was just to intimidate the Chief Judge in order to get at the governor.
“The process of impeaching the governor is not easy. That is why they are intimidating the loyalists of the governor just to create a state of emergency, at most”.
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Giving the quick succession at which events happened in the state in the course of the week barely few hours after the Minister of the federal capital territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike on Wednesday publicly declared that the state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara could be impeached by the House of Assembly and “heaven will not fall”, it shows that there is more in the offing.
The minister’s audacity came just a day after a crucial meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the delegation of the pan Niger Delta Elders Forum, PANDEF, in Abuja wherein the latter was asked to go back home and prevail on the embattled Governor to “obey the rule of law”, in other words, the Supreme Court judgment.
Meanwhile, Wike’s impeachment threat to Fubara and his vituperations on the Ijaw ethnic nationality has since attracted the ire of the Supreme Egbesu Assembly, SEA, a religious deity of the Ijaws and other revered topnotch organizations such as the Ijaw national Congress, INC and its youth wing, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC.
Recall that in the early years of militancy in the Niger Delta with Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states being the hotbed of the crisis, the Egbesu god was said to have been invoked to wade off the incursion of the federal troops into the flashpoints of the crisis.
Leader of the Supreme Egbesu Assembly, SEA, an ancestral religious institution of the Ijaw people, Sergeant Werinipre Digifa, told Saturday Vanguard on phone that the Ijaw people would “shock” President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the appropriate time in the event that the Governor of Rivers state, Siminalayi Fubara is impeached.
Digifa hit back at the President who he said lacks the capacity to tame Wike. “Tinubu should be held responsible for the recklessness and arrogance Wike is exhibiting against the Ijaw nation.
“This is why I say that Nigeria is a banana republic. Somebody has turned the judiciary to his personal estate. He manipulates the judiciary the way he wants it just to suit his desire. If they impeach Fubara, we will not go into violence because Ijaw people don’t believe in violence. We will take everything in good faith. But we will shock them”.
The head of the Egbesu Assembly added that ”we are keenly watching the ongoing political trend which is pure harassment and the intimidation of the Governor of Rivers state. We are listening to the insults, the unguarded utterances and the abuse that is being heaped on the Ijaw ethnic nationality by Hon Wike.
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”The Niger Delta is a community and when controversies arise in a community, reasonable people don’t jump in to talk. There is an African adage which says ‘two mad people never behave madly at the same time.’
“We are not sleeping, neither are we cowards. But note that we have always won our just battles and this will be no exception. This crass arrogance being displayed by Wike was avoidable”.
Digifa expressed disappointment that President Tinubu has allowed the crisis to fester, saying ”I had earlier thought that he had the capacity to rule Nigeria as a president, but from the showings on ground, it is evident that we had a misplaced value on President Tinubu’s leadership capacity.”
He warned President Tinubu that “by the time Wike finishes with you, the Yoruba nation would have incurred the anger of the Ijaw man. The spirits that have protected the Ijaw Nation over the years will bring the wrath on the Yoruba to teach them a lesson that could be worse than what has happened to those who attempted to humiliate us”.
INC’s position on Wike’s bluster to oust Fubara from power is that people should look at issues from the broader perspective and not through the prism of sectarian sentiment.
Professor Benjamin Okaba, President of INC, said Wike’s so called insult on Ijaws smacks off the smart game of giving it an ethnic coloration to get the sympathy of other ethnic groups and distract their attention from the sympathy they have for governor Fubara.
“When the Ijaws led the struggle for the creation of Rivers state, where were Wike’s ancestors? He quipped. “You don’t flirt after a hyena. Wike will regret, mark my words, and become a political orphan. When an empire rises to its peak, another empire will rise. We are heading towards the Marxian synthesis as the political denouement is already unfolding ahead of 2027.
“Wike’s bravado is clearly stimulated by nothing else but the tacit support and encouragement from the Presidency. Remove Wike from Power, he will automatically transform into an empty and most vulnerable entity in Nigerian political history”, he said.
In its declaration after a zonal emergency meeting, the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Eastern Zone put the federal government on notice that it will stoutly resist every attempt by the planners to impeach Governor Fubara, “until he has served out his two tenures of eight years as his predecessors did, by any means necessary”.
The Ijaw youths announced that the planners of the Governor’s impeachment, “if they do not desist from their evil plot, should be ready to bear the consequences of their actions in the event of the breakdown of law and order in the State”.
Also, a statement from the Ijaw Matters viewpoint said the Ijaw Nation has been patient for too long, saying “our patience is not weakness. Nyesom Wike, in his ……arrogance, has crossed every line of decency and respect. His continued insults against the Ijaw people will not go unanswered”.
It said it was a disgrace that a man who once begged for the support of Ijaw leaders and communities now dares to spit on the same people who made him. “We will not forget. We will not forgive. And when the time comes, Wike will beg, he will crawl before the Ijaw Nation seeking mercy, but he will find none”.
The group vowed that “Wike will pay for every insult, every slight, and every word of disrespect. The day of reckoning is closer than he thinks”.
Plot to impeach Fubara thickens
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