Ibadan explosion: Owner of explosives, okada rider who rented building for foreigner identified

The person believed to be behind the explosion that rocked Ibadan, the Oyo State capital; the tenant of the twin duplex where the explosion occurred; the okada rider used as front to rent the apartment; and those who work for them have all been identified.

Their identities were unveiled by the landlords association of the area, police and House of Assembly on Thursday.

The Landlords Association of Adeyi Street in Bodija, where the explosion occurred, disclosed that the register of tenants in the estate showed that the twin duplex was rented by one Mahmoud Camara.

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For the identity of the person suspected to be the brain behind the explosion, the Oyo State House of Assembly identified him as Sawani Yusuf.

The Oyo State Police Command, through its Commissioner, CP Adebola Hamzat, said it has identified the two occupants of the building and declared them wanted.

According to information available to The Eagle Online, the occupants left days before the explosion.

An executive member of the landlord association in the area, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Vanguard News that the register of tenants in the estate showed that the twin duplex was rented by Camara.

Vanguard News said it gathered that the person whose name was used to rent the apartment in the highbrow Bodija is a commercial motorcyclist, popularly called Okada rider.

He rented houses 8A and 8B in the area.

According to the highly credible newspaper, Bayo Busari, a lawyer, who featured on a radio programme, said: “That guy, an okada man, who rented the house, is used as a decoy, if you look at the kind of business he does.”

It was further revealed that three occupants were living in the apartment before the explosion.

Two of them, according to findings, are Malians, while the third is a Nigerian.

CP Hamzat declared the two occupants of the epicentre of the explosion wanted.

He declared the suspects wanted after going round to assess the extent of damage in the area.

The Minority Leader of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Sanjo Adedoyin, disclosed that Yusuf was responsible for the explosion.

The deliberation followed a motion presented to the House by Adebayo Babajide, the representative of Ibadan North II Constituency.

The Speaker, Adebo Ogundoyin, said: “We can discuss different angles to how the situation affects us and different solutions as to ensuring that this situation never occurs again, but for now let us wait for the outcome of the security investigation to shed more light on the happenings.

“As soon as we have more information, I’m sure we’ll be able to deliberate further as to the next action.

“We also want the Ministry of Environment to look at the state Environmental Laws to see whether or not there are consequences for such actions that have happened and if there are not, then there are lacunas in the laws and we have to take immediate steps towards that.”