LOCALS of Ijeododo in Ijegun, Lagos have run away from the area following a pipeline surge and the inferno in the town, in Ojo Local Government of the state.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation pipe exploded on Monday night in the area.
As at 9.15 pm on Tuesday, no casualty had been reported in the surge pointed out to have actually been triggered by suspected pipeline hoodlums.
Our correspondent gathered the occurrence may worsen the fuel deficiency in the South-West as the pipe transports petrol pumped from Atlas Cove.
The NNPC, it was discovered, had stopped supply of petrol by through the line as a result of the surge. The corporation pumps some 11 million litres of petrol each day through the pipeline.
News Agency of Nigeria stated that fire fighting men arrived the scene 4 hours after the fire started but couldn’t promptly access the region.
The official of National Emergency Management Agency Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, said, “We contacted the fire fighters though they could not get to the scene because of the nature of the area.
“We also contacted officials of the NNPC who have blocked all the outlets, which is why the fire is subsiding.”
Farinloye spoke as residents of Ijeododo recounted their experiences of the explosion.
Mr. Sunday Obiase, a dispatch rider, told NAN that he was in his wife’s shop when they noticed the fire.
Obiase said when the fire was noticed, people began to flee their homes as its intensity grew.
A landlord, Mr Sabinus Igbozuluke, said, “I gathered my certificates and other important belongings because the fire could get beyond control.”
According to a man, who identified himself as Baba Tunde, the vandals came through FESTAC.
“There is no road from Ijeododo to the site, everywhere is swampy, you can only pass through FESTAC which is closer,” he said.
Another landlord, Mr. Vitalis Ukewui, said such incident occurred in 2011 and left the area in darkness for over seven months.
“Last year, this same thing happened and we were left in darkness for over seven months until we paid some levy,” he said.
He expressed the fear that since the outbreak was more severe than the previous one, it could leave the area in darkness.
A spokesperson for the NNPC, Ms. Tumini Green, said there was still fire at the scene of the explosion. But she added that officials of the Pipelines And Products Marketing Company Limited, a subsidiary of the NNPC, were still trying to put out the fire.
She said the activities of vandals,caused the inferno.