BREAKING: Akure explosion caused by vehicle carrying IEDs, says Gov. Akeredolu

Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo State, has said a vehicle moving improvised explosive devices to a nearby state caused the explosion that rocked Akure, the state capital.

A powerful explosion which occurred in the early hours of Saturday split the Akure Owo Road into two, destroying over 50 buildings.

Akeredolu, who inspected the scene of the explosion on Saturday, said he was briefed by security chiefs.

He explained that the vehicle was in a convoy heading to a storage facility in a neighbouring state when it broke down along the Akure Owo Road, some 2km to the Akure Airport.

The governorsaid the explosion, which destroyed over 50 buildings, happened in the process of fixing the vehicle.

He said, “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.”

He warned the people of the state to stay away from the spot where the vehicle exploded, advising them to maintain a respectable distance to avert another disaster should another explosion recur.

He said security operatives have cordoned off the area.

“Do not also forget that coronavirus is in the country. I thank God that there has not been any recorded case in Ondo State,” he added.