At least two people were killed and dozens injured when explosives stored at a private residence detonated in Nigeria’s southwest Oyo state, its governor said on Wednesday.
Several houses collapsed from the impact of the blast on Tuesday evening in the Bodija area of the city of Ibadan, witnesses said, sending panicked residents into the streets. Residents said the impact was also felt in different parts of the city.
In a statement, the governor, Seyi Makinde, said there were two deaths while 77 people were treated for injuries, most of them being discharged.
“Preliminary investigations by the security agencies revealed that illegal miners occupying one of the houses in Bodija had stored explosive devices there which caused the blast,” Makinde added.
Ibadan, 130km (80 miles) from Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos, is Nigeria’s third most populous city with four million people, but its largest by land mass.
Makinde said search and rescue operations were under way and the state government would provide temporary accommodation for those who lost their homes.
