93 unexploded bombs recovered in Ikeja Military Cantonment 21 years after explosion

The ongoing ‘Exercise Clean Sweep’ going on in the Ikeja Military Cantonment in Lagos has turned up ninety-three unexploded bombs (ordnance).

On Tuesday, October 10th, 2023, the exercise to recover the bombs and disinfect the epicenter of the 2002 bomb blast at the cantonment began.

According to the army, bombs that were recovered were in various calibers and descriptions.

The Director at the Directorate of Explosives Search and Disposal, Nigeria Army Engineers / Coordinator of EXERCISE CLEAN SWEEP, Colonel Abdulrazaq Kazeem, who disclosed his maiden brief on the update of the exercise, on Thursday, said, “So far, a total of 93 unexploded ordnance have been recovered from the site.

Despite past clearance and disposal exercises at the site, there have been several reports of the discovery of remnants of UXOs within and around the vicinity of the bomb blast much to the detriment of the safety and security of the inhabitants of the Cantonment and environment.

“The moment we reach maximum limits of explosives within our holding area, such ordinances will be moved to the range. If we get to the explosive limits today, I will move to the range today. We would not exceed a kilogram above the explosive limits because it is measured in kilograms. We wouldn’t cross that line. At 93, we have not yet reached the limits,” he reiterated.

On his part, the Safety Officer, Lt Col Oluseyi Oladapo Bamikole said necessary measures had been put in place “for the safety of personnel as they have made adequate equipment available including demarcations and trained personnel to identify UXO before recovery from the site.”