Some residents of Ijegun-Imore, a community in the suburb of Lagos, have urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to protect petroleum pipeline in the area with monitoring gadgets.
They told reporters in Lagos that the measure was necessary due to the increasing activities of vandals in the area.
Mr Fatai Ifabiyi, a community leader, said that if electronic gadgets were installed on the pipeline network in the area, it would alert security agents whenever the pipelines were being vandalised.
Ifabiyi said that the use of security personnel to conduct surveillance on the pipelines could not be adequate because of the magnitude of the network.
According to him, the size of the network and the inadequate security coverage give the hoodlums opportunity to vandalise the pipelines.
“We appeal to NNPC and security agencies to redouble their effort in protecting pipelines because we can no longer sleep with our two eyes closed.
“We are imploring the government to help us to get rid of these people because their activities can cause a lot of damage to the entire community,” he said.
Another resident, Mr Sunday Okoro, urged NNPC to collaborate with security agencies to protect petroleum pipelines in the community.
Okoro, a security guard, said that the vandals were taking the advantage of inadequate surveillance of the pipeline by the NNPC to siphon fuel from pipeline in the area.
“The security guards at the NNPC security post also conspire with the vandals.
“These vandals are professionals because within 30 minutes, they would have filled more than 50 kegs and they will disappear again,” he said.
Also, Mr Sulaiman Raheem, another resident, said that the fear of the unknown often prevented residents from reporting the activities of the vandals to security agencies.
“We are afraid to report their activities because these pipeline vandals enjoy the protection of these security agencies.
“During their operations, you find one of these security agencies leading them out of the pipeline zone,” he said.
The community had on January 26 and March 16, 2014 witnessed oil spills from ruptured pipelines.
Ijegun-Imore is located near the Navy Town in the Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State.