Following the explosion that rocked some parts of Ibadan, the Oyo State Capital, late Tuesday night, the Federal Executive Council has set up a committee to review the laws guiding the control of explosives in the country.
The setup of the committee was disclosed by the Minister of Defense, Mohammed Abubakar, after the FEC meeting, which was held on Wednesday.
According to the minister, the committee is saddled with the responsibility of determining whether the explosion was indeed caused by illegal miners, as revealed by preliminary investigations done by security agencies.
Lamenting the tragic incident that claimed the lives of two people and left 77 others injured and hospitalised, the council, which was presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, said that it is essential that the committee play its role effectively as it would help in averting such tragic incidents in the future.
News About Nigeria reported that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had blamed a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) as the cause of the explosion while revealing that about 20 houses were affected by the explosion.
Similarly, the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, when he visited the scene of the explosion, explained that the explosion occurred at Adeyi Avenue, in the Bodija area of Ibadan.
The governor, while sympathising with the victims and their families, revealed that preliminary investigations by security agencies showed that the blast was triggered by illegal miners occupying one of the houses in Bodija.
However, the FEC revealed after its meeting that it would not rely on the findings of the preliminary investigation but that the committee that it has set up would launch into a more detailed investigation to ascertain the real cause of the explosion.
