In an ongoing operation known as ‘Exercise Clean Sweep’, the Nigerian Army has successfully recovered 93 unexploded ordnances, commonly referred to as bombs, at the Ikeja Military Cantonment in Lagos, News About Nigeria reports.
This operation aims to clear the area, which was severely affected by a bomb blast in 2002.
The exercise, which commenced on Tuesday, seeks to ensure the safety and security of the Ikeja Military Cantonment and its surroundings.
The recovered ordnances vary in calibres and descriptions, indicating the potential risks that the cleanup operation is mitigating.
Colonel Abdulrazaq Kazeem, the Director at the Directorate of Explosives Search and Disposal, Nigeria Army Engineers, and Coordinator of ‘Exercise Clean Sweep’, made the disclosure during his maiden briefing on the progress of the operation.
He noted, “We have so far recovered 93 ordnances of different calibres. So, at 93, we are not yet up to the explosives. We measure it in kilograms, so once we get to that particular explosive limit, then we’ll move to the range.”
Despite previous clearance and disposal exercises at the site, the discovery of remnants of unexploded ordnances (UXOs) within and around the vicinity of the 2002 bomb blast has posed a significant threat to the safety and security of the Cantonment’s inhabitants and the environment.
The Safety Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Oluseyi Oladapo Bamikole, emphasised that essential measures have been put in place to protect personnel involved in the cleanup.
This includes providing appropriate equipment, demarcations to identify UXOs, and trained personnel to safely recover these potentially hazardous items.
