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From Sylvester Asoya

January 27, 2002 will remain one of the darkest days in the history of Lagos. And the day will always be remembered for the accidental detonation of explosives at a military armoury in Ikeja. That tragic event shook Nigeria’s economic capital to its foundations on a Sunday that was full of expectations. Sadly, the events of that day sent many people, especially the young, to their early graves. For those who were affected one way or the other by that tragedy, events of that January, 20 years ago, will remain a nightmare. This explains why after so many years, it still hurts even with the passage of time.
To many people, particularly those in the know about the explosives and their poor state of storage in a heavily populated environment, the ugly incident of that day was in truth, avoidable.

It all started around late afternoon with a loud bang that sent everybody scampering into different connecting streets and directions around the military barracks. Unsurprisingly, the explosions came with smoke, fire and tremours, leading to the collapse of a number of buildings in and around the military facility. There were also records of shattered windows and roofs that were completely blown off. However, in their confusion, many of the victims who were initially unaware of the real cause of the detonations, poured into the streets of Lagos in a desperate effort to save their lives. But a good number of them were unlucky as many actually lost their lives while trying to escape.
But the most heart-wrenching part of the catastrophe was the reported loss of over 600 drowned bodies that were recovered from a canal about a dozen kilometers from the scene of the explosions. According to eye witnesses, the victims who were running for their dear lives in the pandemonium, fell into the canal which was completely covered with water hyacinth. Apart from the unaccounted number of people who were trapped in their homes and about 5000 injured persons, it was also reported that a total of over 1000 individuals lost their lives.
It was indeed a black Sunday for many Lagos families and their friends. In fact, the carnage that came with chaos and anger everywhere, incensed everyone and this naturally flared tempers across the state on that fateful day. No one could douse the tension, including the president at the time, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who arrived the scene less than twenty-four hours after with a promise to investigate and punish those responsible for the disaster.
