Ikeja Cantonment is a large Nigerian Armed Forces installation in the northern part of Lagos. It is situated north of the city centre near the districts of Isolo and Onigbongo.[1]
During the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup of July 28-29, 1966, Lt. Col. M. O. Nzefili said there was a reported massacre at the camp.[2]
It became the home of 9 Brigade of the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army.
In January 2002, the camp was being used to store a large quantity of "high calibre bombs", as well as other sundry explosives.[3] On the afternoon of 27 January, a fire broke out in a street market being held next to the base, which was also home to the families of soldiers.[1] At around 18:00 the fire apparently spread to the base's main munitions store, causing the 2002 Lagos armoury explosion.
References
edit- ^ a b "Lagos blasts leave 600 dead". BBC. 28 January 2002. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ Nowa Omoigui. "WITNESSES TO HISTORY: - Lt. Col. M. O. Nzefili (rtd) โ Part 2". Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ "Armoury explosion in Lagos, Nigeria". World Health Organization. 2002. Archived from the original on May 2, 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- https://naijaquest.com/list-of-army-barracks-in-nigeria/ - list of barracks in Nigeria