Following the explosion in Ibadan, Oyo State on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, which left thousands homeless, 77 people injured, and five people dead, some estate valuers have calculated that almost N50 billion worth of houses may have been destroyed and turned to rubble.
This is in response to the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, revealing over the weekend that 230 homes destroyed by the explosion had undergone testing for structural integrity.
Speaking at the Nigerian Society of Engineers investiture in Abuja, Makinde said that measures to relocate impacted residents and prevent any building collapses were part of the test.
The natives of Oyo State have had challenging times, these few days. Five people lost their lives in an explosion, and other houses were damaged.
The Society of Engineers oversaw an investigation into the structural integrity of the homes surrounding the explosion site between Tuesday, 16 January, and Saturday, 21 January 2024. As of now, they have tested the integrity of 13 homes within a 50-meter radius and 40 more homes within a 100-meter radius.
Additionally, they tested the integrity of 122 homes and 53 homes nearby at a distance of 200 metres. The group spearheaded the endeavour, which resulted in the inspection of around 230 homes. I truly appreciate your assistance at this trying time.
According to professional ethics, the precise cost cannot be determined until estate valuers have viewed all of the relevant properties’ documentation, thus the experts concluded that it is still, at most, only an approximate estimate.
The state administration said over the weekend that it had finished the rescue efforts at the blast site and that fumigation was already underway.
A source from the Governor’s Office claims that the state government has wrapped up its activities at the place of the event and that the different emergency responders are currently conducting a fumigation exercise there.
If nothing changes at the last minute, a delegation from the Federal Government will be inspecting the explosion site in Old Bodija today. A source claims that among other senior government officials on the team will be National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu and Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake.
The purpose of the visit is to conduct an on-the-spot evaluation of the occurrence and its effects, which will let the Federal Government decide what kind of palliative care and assistance should be provided for the victims and locals.
According to preliminary investigations, the explosion’s primary cause was dynamite that illicit miners had stockpiled. Search and rescue operations had been completed, thus as of the time of publication, no arrests have been made.
Properties along Dejo Oyelese Street, Canon Odusanwo Street, Rev Aderinola Street, and other streets were severely damaged, with some of them irreversibly twisted, according to an assessment done on the site. Among many other nearby locations, the explosion also damaged several buildings at University College Hospital (UCH) and the state government offices.
Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) Oyo State, Pastor Oluseyi Adebayo, described the loss as enormous and said it would be difficult to quantify the extent of the damage. Mr. Adewale Adedokun, a lecturer at Lead City University’s Estate Management Department, agreed, stating that the destroyed properties were enormous and valued at billions of Naira.
