According to the Governor, the security operatives accompanying the convoy in which the affected vehicle was traveling noticed smoke coming out of it and before they could put out the resulting fire, the truck exploded.
It was being conveyed when it exploded in Ilu-Abo, a village near Akure along Owo/Akure highway at about 1 am on Saturday.
Although no life was lost, many houses were damaged.
The explosive made a large excavation on the road and the impact was felt kilometres away from the scene.
Residents have since been trooping to the area, which has been cordoned off by police.
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu confirmed on Twitter that there had been a “loud blast” and said he was headed to the “scene to assess”.
The Governor gave report of the event via his twitter handle after he was briefed by the security chiefs.
In 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.”
The Governor also instructed the immediate commencement of an alternate road due to the importance of the Akure Owo road and slams Meteor rumors. He said via his twitter account ‘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.
