The Federal Government has set up a committee to investigate the cause of the explosion at the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) complex in Kaduna State.

On Saturday, Nigerians woke up to the news of an explosion at the Ordnance Factory Disposal Pit of the factory.

Although the official report indicated just one death, other unconfirmed sources reported about four fatalities, with others sustaining different degrees of injury.

While appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, the Managing Director of Beacon Security and Intelligence Ltd., and a former Head of Security at the Senate, Kabir Adamu, said the incident is currently being investigated by the Federal Government.

He described the explosion as “worrisome”.

“The explosion was worrisome.

“The President visited Kaduna, and the next thing we heard was that there was an explosion after he left. So, the first thing that came to my mind was whether it was a sabotage or a security threat.

“I was also concerned to know if there was any fatality. With time, we got to know that the fatality level was low. For now, there is no indication that it was a sabotage, and then the way the government responded was quite commendable.”

According to him, the Minister of Defence, Mohamme Badaru, has visited the facility to assess the situation.

“A committee has been set up to investigate what happened”, he said, adding that the explosion could have been prevented.

“A statement issued by DICON indicated that the situation was under control. It was a minor explosion, and we can’t conclude until the committee comes out with a comprehensive report. But for now, it looks like a safety accident.

According to a statement signed by the DICON Public Relations Officer, Maria Sambo, the explosion happened during the final phase of controlled destruction of expired explosives and other hazardous materials stored at the factory.

“Some old storage bunkers used to store raw materials for production contained several expired items which had exceeded their lifespans, including a large quantity of Ammonia Nitrates, Primer Caps, Propellants, and others,” the statement explained.

Adamu, however, argued that the explosion could have been prevented.

“The explosion could have been prevented, but as we know, these are materials that are components for assembling different types of weaponry.

“One of the policies of this administration is to enhance and increase our capacity for local production of weapons. That means DICON has seen more activities than it used to in the past.

“Most of us in the security and defence sector have commended the Bola administration for this desire to increase local production of weapons by 40 per cent.”

According to him, local production of weapons will save the country a huge money spent on the importation of security apparatus.

“Instead of the money we spend importing weapons, the money will stay in Nigeria, and the vision is that Nigeria will be selling these weapons to other countries.

“Already, other countries have started showing interest. But the risk associated with that is around safety standards within the production side.

“And in this instance, it was a disposal pit where some of these expired materials were deposited and were being decommissioned,”

He advised that the report of the committee already set up by the government should be awaited instead of jumping to a conclusion on the reason for the explosion.

“Until the committee comes out with a clear report, it will be foolhardy to reach a conclusion.

“But there are standards for the disposal of either expired materials or chemicals that are used for the production of weapons, especially given that these are explosives, that even a small error could lead to the type of explosion that we saw.

“If you take us back to about 20 years ago to what happened in Ikeja, when this type of explosion occurred, you would know that it was a serious matter – people died and communities were destroyed.

“So, compared with what happened in Kaduna, the differences are many, and the fact that it has been contained, the official fatality figure is still one, although other sources said up to three to four persons may have died.

“But let’s not preempt the committee’s report. Let us wait for them.”

He, however, faulted the current process of collecting, storing, and disposing of materials used in weaponry production at the facility.

“In my interaction with the security personnel, the standard of collecting, storing, and disposing of some of these materials is still very weak, and those gaps need to be corrected.” (CHANNELS)