Community leaders in Abule-Ado area of Lagos State, where an explosion killed 21 people on Sunday, have faulted the government’s narrative that the explosion was caused by a ruptured pipeline, attributing it to a bomb blast.
The distressed residents of Soba community have also kicked against the recent moves by the federal government to take over the land that was levelled by the fire.
An additional corpse was recovered from the debris yesterday, bringing the official casualty rate to 21, a claim countered by the Soba Landlord/Residents Association that said they lost 30 people, including the Board of Trustee (BoT) chairman, his wife and children.
Faulting the stance of emergency stakeholders, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the government, the Chairman of the Landlords/Residents Association of Soba, Chief Gani Adams, said the incident could not have been a pipeline explosion, given the magnitude of the destruction.
Adams, who spoke through Mr. Chime Umadim, said: “Contrary to the submission of the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari, that the blast was caused by some gas depots close to the pipeline right of way, an information that is totally false, with deliberate calculation to suppress the fact, we are convinced that it was a bomb detonated on the pipeline, which caused the unprecedented blast and damage to lives and property.
“Suffice to say that at no time has pipeline explosion caused the type of heavy blast that resonated far beyond the immediate communities such as FESTAC Town and Satellite Town to farther communities as Ijanikin, Badagry, Orile Iganmu, Surulere, Ijegun, Ejigbo and Oshodi to mention just a few, leaving behind at its wake shattered windows and roof of houses.”
The association also called on the federal and state governments to set up a high-powered fact-finding committee to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the explosion, which they described as a national disaster.
“It is indeed very unfortunate that we lost our board of Trustee (BoT) chairman, wife, children and over 30 others. We need help from the government to put our lives together,” it added.
The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), in a statement, also said the scale of destruction witnessed at Abule-Ado could only be likened to military grade explosions or aerial bombardment.
It charged the federal government to carry out forensic investigation of the immediate and remote cause of the explosion.
According to Head, Media and Campaigns, Mr. Philip Jakpor, the team formed this opinion after visiting the scene to document impacts.
While demanding a forensic investigation to ascertain the true cause of the incident, Jakpor also called on the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to immediately set up a special taskforce on pipelines security to prevent pipeline accidents in the state.
He said: “The Sunday morning blast occurred near the popular ASPAMDA market and Mechanic village in Abule Ado, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area. The vibrations from the blast shook many parts of the state and were felt as far as Iba, Okokomaiko, Agege, Alimosho and Surulere, among others.
“The Lagos government had earlier stated the incident was not in any way linked to pipeline vandalism but could not provide details on the cause of the incident but the NNPC insisted it was caused by a truck that hit some cylinders stacked in a gas processing plant located near the corporations’ system 2B Pipeline right of way.
“The federal government should not be too casual to conclude that the incident was an accident, noting that the accounts of the NNPC on the real cause of the blast are unconvincing and raise some questions.”
Source: THISDAY
