Ninety-three unexploded bombs (ordnance) have been recovered at the Ikeja Military Cantonment, Lagos, in the ongoing ‘Exercise Clean Sweep’.
The exercise was flagged off on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, to disinfect the epicentre of the 2002 bomb blast at the cantonment.
The recovered bombs, according to the Army, were in various calibres and descriptions.
The Director at the Directorate of Explosives Search and Disposal, Nigeria Army Engineers / Coordinator of EXERCISE CLEAN SWEEP, Colonel Abdulrazaq Kazeem, who made the disclosure at his maiden brief on the update of the exercise, Thursday, said among others, “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 kilogramme above the explosive limits because it is measured in kilogramme. 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.”