A motorist, Mr Richard Solomon, and his motor boy, who escaped the Ondo State explosion, have acknowledged the role of the police in their survival.

WuzupNigeria reports that the explosion occurred on Akure-Owo Expressway in Ilu Abo town in Akure North Local Government Area of the state around 1am on Saturday.

Several houses, school, church and the expressway were destroyed in the incident.

Solomon, who witnessed the explosion, said he and his motor assistant escaped death because they heeded to the police warning.

According to the police the blast involved a vehicle carrying explosive devices to Edo State.

Speaking on Sunday at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Akure, Solomon said the incident was mysterious to them as they had never witnessed such an occurrence in their lives.

The 36-year-old truck driver explained that he and his assistant, Jackson Abdulahi, were coming from Jos, Plateau State, as they were about to reach the blast point, they met some mobile policemen who informed them of the danger ahead and warned them not to move further.

He said,

“We were coming from Jos, Plateau State. We are carrying some goods to Ogun State and about few meters to the blast spot, a mobile policeman flagged us down and told us that there was danger ahead, that we should not move further.

“I then parked the vehicle by the roadside. We sat inside the vehicle and suddenly, we heard a very loud sound and a saw a fire in the sky, everywhere turned bright as if we were in the daytime.

“As we sat down inside the truck, watching what was going on, an object from nowhere forcefully came and entered into our vehicle and it cut the leg of my motor boy ( assistant)

“Yet we did not move from the spot. We were a bit confused, we didn’t know what to do, my boy’s leg was bleeding. It was like half a kilometre to where we were. After the explosion had gone down, the policemen came to meet us and showed us another alternative way. I later moved the truck to Shasha market (Akure) and brought the boy to the hospital.”

Solomon, who was not hurt by the explosion, said he had been paying for the treatment of his assistant, contrary to the directive of the state governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, that the government would be responsible for the payment of the bills of all the victims.

He, however, expressed optimism that the government would refund his money.