By Wole Mosadomi, Minna

Tragedy struck in three successions in Niger State within three weeks.

Over one hundred lives were roasted beyond recognition, scores also suffered various degrees of injuries, residential houses and shops were completely razed down while properties worth millions of naira were also lost to the disasters.

The first which was the tanker explosion in Dikko in Gurara Local Government Area of the state claimed over 100 lives, 89 were injured while residential houses were completely razed down.

The second incident was along the Agaie-Lapai road where another petrol-laden tanker overturned its content during an accident.

However, danger was averted because of the time it occurred, thereby preventing nearby villagers from storming the accident scene to scoop fuel.

Those affected were still counting their losses when the third tragedy occurred in Sabon Pegi town in Mashegu Local Government Area of the state where explosives and other dangerous weapons exploded in a shop where they were kept in the town.

The explosives were being sold to miners in the area.

Besides the loss of lives, the building in which the explosives were stored and other nearby buildings were brought down due to the magnitude of the explosion.

Speaking in an interview, a resident of the town and eye witness, Hassan Idris, told our Correspondent that the suspect had been using the building as a store for the explosives.

His words: “He rented one of the rooms of the building as a store about a year ago where he had stockpiled the explosives.

“Our findings show that he is a resident in Kainji town and not in our village.

“Nobody suspected the man or was aware of the type of dangerous materials being kept in the room.
“No doubt, he knows his customers and his customers know him. He transacts his business with them and he goes away to come back when another business comes knocking,” Idris explained.

Another resident of the town, Haruna, said nobody pays attention to him or what is stored in the shop.
“We don’t know what was stockpiled in the room. We only see him go in with some people and out occasionally.
“The alarm eventually blew when the explosion occurred only to discover that the shop had been a warehouse for explosives and other dangerous materials which he usually sells to the illegal miners around here,” Haruna declared.

In his reaction, Muhammed S D Mambo, who is a former Chairman of miners association in the state, said the suspect is neither a member of the body or known it.

He said””We don’t know Yushau because we have never seen him before and so we disown him. I asked all our members and they said he is not known to them.

“In fact, nobody in his right senses would stock such explosives in a room which is even closer to other residents in the community.

Already, we have mandated people to smoke him out from his hiding and bring him to Minna and hand him over to the police for interrogation,” the former chairman remarked.

Meanwhile, Niger State government has taken decisive steps against illegal mining.

The state governor, Muhammed Umar Bago, has directed people engaged in illegal mining, especially in Mashegu Local Government Area to surrender their explosives and other dangerous weapons to government immediately to forestall similar occurrences in future.