No fewer than 18 people were confirmed dead, including a family of four and over 70 houses destroyed in yesterday’s pipeline explosion which rocked Abule Ado area of FESTAC Town in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The Acting Coordinator of NEMA in Lagos, Ibrahim Farinloye, who disclosed this to journalists, said the victims, a couple and their two sons, were caught by the explosion on their way to church at about 9:00 a.m. yesterday.
A massive explosion was heard, yesterday morning, accompanied with thick smokes and balls of fire.
The explosion shook several houses miles away from the scene.
The explosion reverberated and shook houses several miles away.
Farinloye said: “The resulting fire later spread to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) oil pipeline passing through the area even though the pipeline has been shut down as a precautionary measure.
“The fire was eventually extinguished at 3:30 p.m. through the combined efforts of officials of the Lagos State Fire Service, Federal Fire Service, and Nigerian Navy Fire Tender.”
He said; “From the information given by officials of the Lagos State Fire Service who are currently on the ground, the implosion is not connected to pipeline but might have occurred in a factory located in the Abule Ado area.
“Emergency responders are on ground while others are still on their way to the scene. The situation is under control and we hope to get more information soon to ascertain its cause,” he said.
Farinloye said the NNPC had shut down the pipeline passing through the area as a precautionary measure after the oil company was notified of the incident.
He also confirmed that several buildings were affected by the explosion.
Also, a Staff Officer of the Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji, told journalists that the students were stabilised at the Navy Hospital, adding that those who have fully recovered would be discharged soon.
Daji said although the cause of the incident was still unknown, some residents of the area told security operatives that there were several industrial gas cylinders close to where the explosion occurred.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) spokesman, Nosa Okunbor said the explosion might be from the pipeline.
“We were debating in my house where the sound came from, and then, my sister called some friends in Satellite Town who confirmed it happened in their area and Abule Ado,” said Precious, who lived close to the area.
An Army, personnel who craved anonymity, said the explosion occurred behind Oando Gas Station at Abule Ado.
Emergency management officials were seen evacuating the remains of several dead victims.
The headquarters of the Lagos Province 3 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) located on 24 Road, FESTAC Town, Lagos was burnt along with over 70 buildings.
The explosion, which occurred more than a kilometre away from the church premises, shattered its glass windows, injuring worshippers.
A parish of the First Baptist Church near the RCCG parish also lost a part of its roof to the explosion.
The roof of a parish of the Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) located at 7th Avenue, FESTAC Town, was also blown off by the explosion which equally shattered the roof of the Ark Parish of the RCCG at 1st Avenue, many kilometres away from the explosion scene.
The Bethel Secondary School, a boarding school owned by the Catholic Church in Abule Ado, was brought down by the explosion, with many of its students injured and some feared dead.
The agency said, at least, 60 injured students of Bethlehem Girls College had been taken to the Nigerian Navy Hospital in Ojo Cantonment for treatment.
Many other buildings very far from the explosion scene in Abule Ado, Festac Extension in Amuwo Odofin LGA, were also brought down while many others shook during the explosion that threw thousands of residents in panic and confusion.
The Odic Plaza, a motor parts mall and warehouse, Bush Bar Hotel, Green Horse Plaza which houses tyres, Arch Angel Catholic Church, Chino Plaza with many goods in it, and a mechanic village, all located inside the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, were all hit by the explosion.
The cause of the explosion has yet to be ascertained according to the National Emergency Management Agency, which is yet to confirm the death toll.
A witness, Mrs Patience Erebogaya, said that she was preparing to go to work in a nearby hotel when the Bethel School was scattered by the explosion and injured her.
The victim said that mass celebration was going on in the catholic school when the explosion reduced the school to rubbles, trapping many students.
The state Commandant of the Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr F. A. Adeyinka, said hat security personnel and other emergency responders were working hard to bring the situation under control.
The Chairman of Amuwo Odofin LGA, HonValetine Buriamoh, who was at the scene, ruled out pipeline vandalism as the cause of the explosion.
He said that the magnitude of the damage was beyond pipeline vandalism.
He appealed to the residents to give access to security operatives and emergency responders to do their jobs.
The fire which started at 9.00p.m was still on as at 3.00.p.m.
Reacting, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC0, yesterday, blamed the explosion that occurred at the Abule-Ado Area of Lagos State, in the early hours of yesterday, on a gas explosion which occurred after a truck hit some gas cylinders stacked in a gas processing plant located near the corporation’s system 2B Pipeline Right of Way.
In a statement in Abuja, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, stated that following the report of the explosion, the corporation quickly halted ongoing pumping operations on the Atlas Cove-Mosimi pipeline which was active at the time.
He noted that the temporary shutdown of the critical System 2B pipeline, would not affect the supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, across the country.
Obateru explained that the NNPC had already mobilized its in-house combined team consisting of Health, Safety, Environment experts, medical and security personnel from its nearby Satellite Depot in Lagos, even as Lagos State Fire Service was also rallied to extinguish the fire.
He added that more fire fire-fighting personnel and equipment were mobilised from the NNPC Mosimi Area Office to provide extra fillip to the ongoing operation.
The newly appointed spokesperson of the NNPC explained that preliminary findings indicated that the impact of the explosion was so huge that it led to the collapse of nearby houses and damage to NNPC pipeline on which efforts are being made to curtail the resultant fire.
He added that the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, and other top management of the corporation departed to Lagos this evening for an on-the-spot assessment at the scene of the incident.
While assuring members of the public and residents of the affected communities to remain calm, the NNPC’s spokesman assured that the temporary shutdown of the petroleum products pipeline would not affect the normal supply of products to the Lagos and its environs.
He said the fire, currently burring at controlled condition, was being fought headlong, saying a detail assessment of the incident was underway to establish the extent of damage to the pipeline.
“The NNPC Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, commiserated with the victims of the incident, praying that God provides them succour at this hour,” he said.
Also, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday night, commiserated with families of victims of a pipeline explosion in Abule Ado, Amuwo Odofin local government area of Lagos State.
The President also condoled with the Lagos State government and all residents affected by the unfortunate incident that killed, at least, 15 people and injured several others.
Buhari, in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, described the incident as a national tragedy.
He said: “I have received with sadness the news of this unfortunate incident which caused the loss of lives and property.
“A misfortune of whatever scale anywhere is a tragedy to the country, and while the NNPC makes efforts to determine the cause of the incident, I send my deepest and profound sympathises to the victims, their families, government and people of Lagos State.”
Similarly, President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan commiserated with victims of the explosion that occurred, yesterday morning at Abule Ado, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Lawan condoled with all those who lost loved ones in the incident.
In a statement by his Special Adviser, Ola Awoniyi, Lawan also sympathised with those who are injured and those who lost property to the inferno.
The Senate President commiserated with the Lagos State Government over the tragic incident and prayed to God to comfort all those who are affected.
Lawan called on the relevant authorities and agencies to get to the root of the incident with a view to forestalling a recurrence.
In his condolence, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila expressed sadness over the pipeline explosion in Abule Ado, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Gbajabiamila, who sympathised with the victims of the explosion, called for calm as the state government makes frantic efforts to ascertain the cause of the incident.
The Speaker commended the Lagos State Government as well as relevant agencies for taking action following the explosion.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, the Speaker said everything should be done to avert the re-occurrence of such incidents in future.
“My heart goes out to the people of Abule Ado, especially the victims of the explosion, in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area. I also sympathise with the people and Government of Lagos State over the incident
“May I call on all the agencies of government to do diligent work to ascertain the cause of the explosion to avert a reoccurrence,” Gbajabiamila said.
In a swift reaction hours after the fire explosion at the Abule Ado area of Lagos, the state Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, advised residents in the affected area to make safety their priority, urging them to maintain a safe distance from the scene of the explosion and fire as the site is still live.
The governor also instructed the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) to immediately release personal safety equipment such as face and nose protection masks to be distributed to first responders, residents of the affected area and all safety workers at the ground zero.
The safety equipment had been delivered.
An explosion rocked the Western part of the state in the early hours of Sunday morning, leading to fire incident with attendant effects on the atmosphere.
Safety agencies in the state were immediately mobilised to the scene of the incident to contain the fire and keep the residents safe.
The perimeter of the fire incident is under control.
A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, said the governor sent the protective equipment to the affected site to prevent any form of medical hazard such as respiratory infections by the residents who may unknowingly inhale toxic substances from the explosion.
The governor noted that in a situation like this, there would be a lot of unhealthy substances, gas particulate matters that can affect people’s lungs.
Sanwo-Olu, however, reiterated the need for the residents to maintain a safe distance as practicable to avoid breathing in polluted air.
Meanwhile, combined safety teams of the Lagos State Emergency Authority (LASEMA); the Lagos Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA); the State Safety Commission; the Lagos State Fire Service; the Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS), as well as the Nigerian Civil Defence (NSCDC), the Nigerian Navy and the military are among the state and federal agencies currently at the scene of the incident to ensure the safety of residents.