…AS ARMY BEGINS DISPOSAL AT AJILETE RANGE
By Okosun Dennis
Two weeks after bomb experts drawn from the Nigerian Army Engineers began “Exercise Clean Sweep” at the epicentre of the 2002 bomb blast, 479 Unexploded Ordnances (UXOs) have been recovered, People and Power Magazine online exclusively reports.
However, a statement from the Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 81 Division Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi Olalekan Ayeni on Tuesday disclosed that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, will on Friday flag off the disposal of recovered UXOs at the Nigerian Army Range, Ajilete, Ogun state.
He noted that the Exercise has reached an advanced stage resulting in the recovery of various calibres of unexploded ordnances which would be professionally disposed of.
The disposal of the recovered UXOs at the Nigerian Army Range in Owode Ajilete on Friday, 27 October 2023 would start from 10 am to 4 pm.
As a result, there would be movement of the Unexploded Ordnances from Ikeja Cantonment to NA Range, Owode Ajilete in Ogun State. During the process, there will also be large sounds that would be heard during the exercise which are in line with the disposal routine.
“Consequently, members of the general public especially those who reside around Owode, Ajilete, and the environs are not to panic but go about their normal respective businesses as the sounds of the explosion would not raise any security concern.
“Furthermore, Lt Col Ayeni added that all the necessary safety measures have been put in place to ensure safety of life and property throughout the duration of the exercise.
It would be recalled that Gen Lagbaja had on the 10th October 2023 at Ikeja Cantonment, the epicentre of the blast, flagged off the Exercise codenamed “EXERCISE CLEAN SWEEP”, designed to clear all the remnants of UXOs.
On the 12th October 2023, the Director at the Directorate of Explosives Search and Disposal in Headquarters, Nigerian Army Engineers, and the Coordinator of EX CLEAN SWEEP, Col Abdulrazaq Olupeju Kazeem briefed the press disclosed that 93 UXOs have been recovered while the recovery process continued.
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