*Victims recount ordeal, count losses
*Begins 2 weeks probe to determine cause
*Incident beyond pipeline explosion -Aare Gani Adams

Lagos explosion
Wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu visits Victims of Abule Ado explosion in Naval Hospital.

 

The death toll in the yet to be determined explosion at Ado Soba, in Abule Ado Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Lagos State which occurred on Sunday has increased to 20 from earlier recorded 15, as five more bodies were recovered on Monday from the rubble of the calamitous incident.

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Lagos residents, on Monday, turned the site into a kind of tourist centre as they trooped out in their thousands, wailing and lamenting on seeing the level of devastation on properties.

The carcasses of collapsed buildings and wreaked vehicles littered the entire area as armed inter-security personnel cordoned off the place.

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READ ALSO: Lagos Explosion: 33 students, 19 adults currently receiving treatment at Navy Reference Hospital

However, following collateral damage caused by the unfortunate explosion, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has set up a N2 billion emergency relief fund to alleviate losses suffered by victims.

Sanwo-Olu, however, on behalf of the state government, announced the donation of a N250 million as capital base for the relief fund.

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Lagos explosion
Among those who also lost their lives that Sunday morning was Chisom Udoakonobi, a newly married pregnant first class graduate, who was reportedly confirmed dead alongside her husband.

The governor stated this in the early hours on Monday, when he led a high powered delegation to the scene for on -the -spot assessment. He was accompanied by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.

Sanwo-Olu commiserated with those who lost their loved ones and those who sustained various degree of injuries as well as those who had their properties damaged.

READ ALSO: Lagos explosion: Sanwo-Olu floats N2bn relief fund for victims

The governor said three account numbers at three different banks had been opened for well-meaning Nigerians and people to assist government in assisting the victims.

He said that the banks with the same account name as ”Abule Ado Emergency Relief Fund” included Polaris Bank 4030017510, Zenit Bank 10171845716 and GTB 0586615680.

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”It is a N2 billion relief fund, and the state government will immediately be putting N250 million in that fund.

”This is certainly beyond what the state government can undertake on its own. This is beyond what the government be it at the national or state can undertake on its own. I have never seen this level of devastation before in the state. Its like a war zone.

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”So what this fund would do is to give everybody the opportunity to be part of it and to be able to donate into it,” the governor said.

Sanwo-Olu, who described the incident as unprecedented, also said the fund would be managed by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.

Investigative Committee 

Earlier, the governor also setup a committee to look into the immediate cause of the explosion at Abule Ado.

READ ALSO: Lagos Explosion: 33 students, 19 adults currently receiving treatment at Navy Reference Hospital

He said that the committee, which would be headed by Hamzat had two weeks to do an extensive investigation into devastating incident

According to him, the committee is to map out what needs to be done to ensure that such incident does not repeat itself again.

Members of the committee include: The Deputy Governor, Hamzat as the Chairman, the Commissioner for Special Duty as the Co-Chairman, the Commissioner for Education, the Commissioner for Finance and the Commissioner for the Environment.

Others include: The Permanent Secretary; Ministry of Health, Permanent Secretary; Works and Infrastructure, Nigerian Police; Senior Special Assistant on Security, Chairman of the Local Government, Representatives of the Community Development Committee, and Community Development Associations, CDA.

Also representative of St. Bethlehem Girls college, the Commissioner for Physical Planning, representative of the NNPC; Mrs Ada Oyetunde, National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), two representative of the host community, among others.

READ ALSO: Breaking: No student died, 3 students receiving treatment after Lagosexplosion

”Let me on behalf of the government and people of Lagos State express our condolences to the families that have lost their loved ones, to the children that lost their teacher, to everyone in this neighbourhood that has lost one person or the other, accept my sympathy.”

Disaster beyond mere pipeline explosion-Aare Gani Adams

The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba Land Iba Gani Adams who also visited the scene at about 12 noon, said the disaster was beyond mere pipeline explosion.

Lagos explosion
Gbajabiamila visits explosion scene, calls it “National disaster.”

Bethlehem School Management speaks

The school management of Bethlehem International Catholic School, Abule Ado has revealed that none of the student died in the explosion that claimed several lives on Sunday morning.

Speaking at the scene, Simmons Jerome Oduntan, the Director for Education for Catholic Arch Diocese of Lagos State, said that there is no student that died during the explosion.

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