LAGOS (GIN)�Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is coming under attack for failing to provide strong leadership and give comfort in the aftermath of a deadly explosion in the densely-settled neighborhood of Ikeja.

Ikeja, despite its residential character, was home to an aging military depot containing explosives, cluster bombs, and other ordnance that went off like a bomb the night of Jan. 27. Responsibility for the explosion that left more than 600 dead and many missing is still under investigation.

In a display of anger and frustration, the House of Representatives Jan. 29 barred President Olusegun Obasanjo from traveling out of the country until he can guarantee that there will be no further explosions in military barracks, the type that rocked the Ikeja Military Cantonment.

The House declaration came on a day the Senate directed its committee on defense to investigate the cause of the explosions, with a view to finding those responsible, individuals or agencies.

Retired Defense Minister Lt.Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, on a Jan. 29 visit to Lagos, said the ammunition dump at the cantonment would be shut and relocated. He also warned residents of the cantonment who had fled to resist the temptation to return.

The House, which observed a minute of silence for victims of the explosions, adjourned till Jan. 30, in sympathy with grieving relations of the dead.

Rep. Alhaji Mudashiru Hussain of Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency broke down in tears as he called for an investigation of the circumstances leading to the explosion with a view to averting a similar occurrence in other armories across the country.

Before the motion was adopted, however, Rep. Nduka Irabor condemned what he called the callous way the president spoke to Nigerians on the incident. He proposed the amendment asking President Obasanjo not to travel out of the country. The amendment was unanimously adopted.

Describing the incident as a product of criminal negligence, Mr. Irabor said the House should take a position, carry out a thorough investigation and apportion blame where necessary.

Speaker of the House Alhaji Ghali Umar Na�Abba had earlier informed the House that he would lead a delegation to Lagos to commiserate with the victims of the bomb blast.

Other measures adopted by the motion included a call for military authorities to accelerate the detonation of unexploded bombs, the investigation of circumstances leading to the bomb explosion as well as sending relief materials to those displaced by the explosions.

Meanwhile, President Obasanjo defended his actions in the moments after the blast. He said he was not given clear information. "When I was there this morning all they told me was that children were separated from their parents and we were trying to find out," he said in an interview with a local paper. "Later on in the day, they started picking their bodies.

"When it was ascertained that they had picked over 600 dead bodies, I felt that was too much for me to keep quiet, that I should say something to the nation. So, I quickly called the radio and television crew together," he explained about his late night nation-wide broadcast.

After blaming the high death toll on the people�s panic that followed the explosion, President Obasanjo noted there was need for sober reflection on the disaster, saying something would be done to assist families who have lost loved ones.

Finally, a decision appears to have been made to close the ammunition dump at the Ikeja base.

Explaining that the ammunition depot was sited at the barracks when the cantonment was very far from town during its construction in the 1960s, the defense minister noted that "the cantonment has since been swallowed up by the metropolis."

Lt. Gen. Danjuma allayed fears that the main army depot at Navy Town, Ojo might soon blow up wiping out much of Lagos, saying: "It is all rumor since there is a remote possibility of that happening."

He warned some of the bombs could still explode, especially when the heat from the sun is high or through spontaneous combustion.

Still, he rejected a call by Lagos State Gov. Bola Tinubu on the board of inquiry the Federal Government had proposed to investigate the explosion.

Gov. Tinubu prefers an open, public investigation. Lt.-Gen. Danjuma said only a secret military probe would be possible for security reasons.