Explosion: Police after importers of ‘knockout’ •Govt begins demolition exercise

THE police in Lagos State have begun a massive manhunt for the owners of the firecrackers that led to the explosion on Lagos  Island  on Wednesday.
This was disclosed to the Nigerian Tribune by the image maker in charge of the state police command, Ngozi Braide, who expressed shock at the magnitude of the incident.
The police also reiterated the ban on fireworks in the state and threatened to go after not just the sellers, but also buyers.
One person was killed and several others injured in and  around Jankara Market as a result of what has been attributed to firecrakers.
Braide stated that the police in the state had already begun investigations into the Boxing Day incident, which led to loss of millions of naira worth of properties.
The Lagos police image maker also said that “using fireworks and ‘bangers’ in Lagos State is still banned,”  adding that  “investigations have commenced on the incident.”
She also said that the police had begun investigations on the importation and storage of the explosives in many parts of the state
She, however, denied that five people died in the incident.
Braide also stated that 20 people had been treated and discharged from hospital, while four were still on admission.
Following the incident, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has commenced the demolition of 10 houses that were affected by the fire.
When Nigerian Tribune visited the scene of the inferno at Ojo Giwa/Okoya Street, on Thursday, officials of LASEMA were seen with their equipment demolishing some of the affected buildings.
When making comments about the demolition exercise, the General Manager of LASEMA, Dr Olufemi Osanyintolu, stated that in all, 12 houses were affected by the inferno. But he also added that 10 houses were badly damaged and required demolition to prevent further danger in the environment.
Some of the former occupants of the affected buildings, who spoke with Nigerian Tribune, commended the Nigerian Police which, they said, had prevented street urchins, popularly known as area boys, from taking advantage of the development to loot the affected shops.
Also present at the scene of the incident was NEMA Information Officer, Ibrahim Farinloye, who described the incident as “unfortunate.”
He revealed that when the agency received distress calls about the explosion, it quickly moved into action by mobilising its men and other emergency officials to the scene.
“When we arrived at the scene, there were security challenges because of the crowd, as usual. We also encountered the difficulty of attending to many people who suffered varying degrees of injuries when they were trying to escape from the fire,” he remarked.
In all, he declared that about 20 buildings had been penciled in for integrity test which would reveal whether they would be listed for possible demolition or not.
As a result of the development, some shop owners in the market were spotted moving their goods to other locations, as many of them were not sure of what will become of their shops and business centres after the conclusion of the integrity test.
In the meantime, NEMA has also declared that the Lagos State government authorities would take over the control of the site, while the state government has equally called for residents in the state to assist the government in curbing the spate of disasters.
According to  Mr Farinloye, it was time the government stopped the current trend, whereby buildings serve as both residential and commercial centres.
 “The use of residential buildings for both residential and commercial use, which is against the building code of Nigeria, complicates the rescue operations of the fire fighters,” he noted.
However, as of the time of writing this report, normalcy was gradually returning to Jankara Market. The mammoth crowd that had earlier gathered to witness the development was already thining out and coming under control. This gave more room for relevant agencies to perform their duties without much hindrance.
Tribune