Tragedy was recorded following a pipeline explosion at
Arepo, Ogun State, yesterday when unknown number of pipeline vandals lost their
lives in the odd hours of the day.
Vanguard reports that an unconfirmed report put the death
toll at 100, while the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, could not
state whether any casualty was recorded, as it claimed it could not access the
terrain due to the magnitude of the fire.
Sources stated that some of the vandals intentionally fired
some shots on the broken pipeline during a heated argument, this resulted in
the explosion that sparked off the wild fire.
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Suspected vandals and their exhibits
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The fire reportedly raged intensely till 6:30pm with no
agency present at the scene to check the spread of the fire as at press time. NEMA’s
South-West spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye, when contacted, could not confirm the
number of casualty. In his words, “An
unconfirmed report on a clash between different groups of vandals at Arepo
around midnight has led to pipeline explosion. NNPC has been alerted about the explosion and has immediately shut down
supplies to suffocate the fire, while efforts are on to put it out by the NNPC
safety unit. No one can confirm if there are casualties or anyone injured
because no agency is yet to access the scene which is swampy. No one can
confirm until we get to the scene.”
Meanwhile, residents of the area have urged the relevant
authorities to come to their aid, following the incessant fires caused by
vandals in the area.
Mr. Majekodunmi Fatai, a resident, was quoted to have said: “For a long time now, there had been no
agency securing the pipelines. We noticed the absence of security agents since
a pregnant woman was shot dead around this area some months ago. No one can
access the scene today, not even officials of NNPC fire safety unit, as they
are afraid that vandals could be lurking around to shoot at any intruder, just
as they killed one NNPC official last year.”