Hector Igbikiowubo, Olasunkanmi Akoni, Evelyn Usman and Yemie Adeoye
22 May 2008
Lagos — THERE was pandemonium yesterday in Ijegun, a Lagos suburb, where a petroleum pipeline fire claimed several lives six days ago, over threats of a fresh fire outbreak in the area occasioned by fuel sipping from the broken products line.
Officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) also arrested five people for allegedly scooping fuel from the damaged pipeline.
Fuel was still gushing out of the pipeline at press time, contrary to claims that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had sealed the damaged portion.
Vanguard saw a sizeable number of NNPC engineers working frantically to check the leakage to no avail.
Leader of the team who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity said the welding works on the pipeline were completed on Tuesday after the engineers worked all night, only to discover the next day that the weld on the pipeline did not hold.
"The pressure from the products contained in the line was still much and made it impossible for the weld to hold and this is what is responsible for the pool of petrol which is still gushing out," the team leader said.
Further investigations revealed that the drainage in the area is already filled with petrol, with grievous implications for the safety and well-being of residents.
The leader of the NNPC team of engineers, however, assured Vanguard after much probing that his team would change strategy and put in a systematic approach that would ensure that all the products which might have past the main area into the drainage and other pools of water around the area were neutralised.
"As you can see, these are drums of chemicals and other materials used in this kind of activity. It has been sprayed all around the area this morning and if not for the rains, you would have seen everywhere in white right now. So this is expected to neutralise the hydrocarbon in the product, thereby making it less effective and less inflammable.
"We are also ensuring that we evacuate the large pool of petrol which you are looking at over there even as it continues rushing out. That is why we have that tanker on ground to help drain the remaining product that keeps rushing out from the system," he said.
On why it takes so long to stop the flow of petrol on the line to enable repair works commence, he said it was in view of the pressure on the Lagos pipeline which is about the busiest of all NNPC pipelines in the country.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr. Tayo Kasali, who visited the area said the state government was working out ways to join hands with the NNPC to ensure a permanent solution to the situation while also putting up measures to forestall a recurrence.
Schools in the area including St. Saviours and Queen Maris Nursery-Primary and Secondary have ordered their pupils and students to stay at home till next Monday.
An official of Queen Maris said the decision to close down for now was taken when fuel was discovered sipping out of the ground within the premises
Lagos orders immediate evacuation of residents
In his response, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, who confirmed the incident said the quick intervention of the men of state fire fighters, who had been placed on ground to put out the fire averted what could have resulted in another tragedy.
According to Bamidele, the state government immediately evacuated residents of the affected areas to a safe place pending when the area would be safe again for habitation.
"We are on top of the situation, there is no cause for alarm. The state government is doing everything possible to ensure safety of lives and property of the entire citizenry in the state," Bamidele assured.
Meanwhile, residents of the area have appealed to the state government to save their community from impending danger by doing everything possible to save the situation once and for all.
Officials of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company Limited (PPMC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, were sighted at about 13:00 hours pumping the products into some tankers and carrying same to nearby depots. Officials of the fire service and policemen were also at the scene to curtail any danger.
Reverend Father Judge Anibike of At St Ann Catholic Church, where the product was gushing out from the ground, told Vanguard: "We did not have a wink of sleep all through because we were afraid it could lead to another explosion."
On his part, the Oba of Ijegun, Sulu Ayinla Akinremi appealed to the NNPC to find a lasting solution to the problem by shutting down the pumping of petroleum product through Ijegun.
5 fuel thieves nabbed
Five suspects were arrested for scooping fuel from the site of last Thursday's pipeline explosion, which left more than 20 dead, with several houses and vehicles razed.
The fuel scooping had increased the fear of another fire outbreak by residents of the area who had been fleeing the area since Tuesday.
Dr Sam Onyeamachi, the Corps Assistant Commandant-General, Zone A disclosed shortly after the arrest that the suspects were caught scooping fuel into containers. Onyemachi observed that so many lives and property have been lost to the activities of unscrupulous elements along the pipelines.
He lamented the insensitivity of people to the danger associated with scooping fuel and living along pipelines. "People do not know the danger involved in tampering with fuel gushing out fron damaged pipelines. Not mindful of such danger, people have also erected structures on pipelines," he said.
According to him, the outfit will continue to effectively monitor pipelines across the state and is ready to prosecute vandals and thieves.
He said the arrested persons would be handed over to the Police for prosecution.
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