No fewer than four persons have been killed in an explosion that rocked the palace of the paramount ruler of Ebiraland in the ancient town of Okene, the Ohinoyi, Dr Ado Ibrahim.
The explosion occurred around 9am on Thursday while the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) was being expected to arrive in the state for the inauguration of Governor Yahaya Bello’s projects.
One of the projects was the Okene hospital which is opposite the palace.
According to an eyewitness, a car exploded, killing two persons inside it and affecting the back gate of the palace.
It was further gathered that the explosion affected two motorcycles, as the two riders were killed.
The charred corpses were sighted at the scene of the explosion even as security operatives sealed up the area.
An eyewitness, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria, said, “I was in the house when I heard a loud explosion; by the time I came out, I saw a car on fire, along with two motorcycles, close to the second gate of the Ohinoyi’s palace. The explosion was massive, with three bodies on the ground around the palace.”
The Kogi Police Public Relations Officer, SP Williams Ovye-Aya, who confirmed the incident, described it as “very unfortunate and shocking.”
Ovye-Aya said the police were on top of the situation as security operatives had already sealed up the area.
He said investigation into the explosion had begun.