Some residents of Abule Ado in Amuwo-Odofin LGA of Lagos State, have lamented over the ravaging effects of the oil pipeline explosion which occurred on Sunday morning.
The explosion which occurred at about 9.00 a.m. on Sunday morning killed at least 17 people and destroyed more than 70 buildings including schools, churches, hotels and warehouses, Femi Oke-Osayintolu, Director-General of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had revealed that the explosion had rocked parts of Lagos on Sunday when a truck hit some gas cylinders in the area.
The Bethlehem Girls School, owned by the Catholic Church, were among buildings reduced to rubbles as couple and a Catholic reverend sister were among those feared dead.
The President of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Lagos State, Chief Solomon Ogbonna has reacted on the Lagos explosion, calling on the state government to conduct a thorough investigation into the explosion. He stated,
“The government must immediately do all that is necessary to avert a reoccurrence,” he said.
“I am calling on the Lagos State Government to investigate this and not dismiss it as a mere gas explosion, the damage is huge,’’ Mr. Ogbonna added.
Mr Japheth Okafor, who resides in Abule Ado told the NAN that he narrowly escaped death from the explosion.
He said that an alarm raised by his boss alerted him and others to escape through a window.
“Before the explosion, the sky changed to white and we started perceiving gas odour; few minutes after, there was an explosion,” he said.
“My boss screamed and asked us to jump through the window, that was how we escaped this morning,’’ Mr. Okafor said. The impact of the explosion was felt kilometres away in Lagos as windows, doors of houses were shattered.
Meanwhile the All Progressives Congress National Leader, Chief Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has condemned the explosion in Festac Town and Abule Ado areas of Lagos, which reportedly killed 17 persons.
He said,
“This tragedy should not have happened. Those who lost their lives in the unfortunate incident did not deserve to die so gruesomely.”
“I strongly condemn this incident. I commiserate with families and relations of those who died. I also sympathise with those who lost their valued property. In their memories and in order to avert similar occurrence in future, the authorities must get to the root of this incident and curb incessant pipeline explosion in the area.” he added.
“All those who had a hand in this explosion, including those who acted in ways to put lives at risk and hard-earned possessions in jeopardy, must be punished, no matter how highly-placed they may be,” he concluded.
