Lagos Explosion

No fewer than 15 bodies were recovered in Sunday morning’s explosion at Abule-Ado, Trade Fair axis of Lagos state.

This is just as no fewer than 60 students of Bethlehem Girls College located within the area who sustained various degrees of injuries in the incident were also taken to the Nigerian Navy Hospital in Ojo Cantonment.

Acting Coordinator of Lagos office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, who gave this information about the incident, added that over 50 buildings were also damaged in the explosion.

Among casualties in the incident are a couple and their two sons; a family of six, father, mother and four children; and the principal of Bethlehem Girls College, Reverend Sister Henrietta Alokha.

Alokha of the Sisters of Sacred Heart, Lagos Catholic Archdiocese was said to have suffered casualties while rescuing all the children under her care.

Various offices of Reverend sisters and the Catholic church, at large, confirmed that Alokha died in the incident.

Aside from Abule-Ado area, the impact of the explosion also reverberated in houses in Festac Town Ijegun, Kirikiri, Agege and other communities in the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of the state.

Though the NEMA boss pointed out that the cause of the incident was yet to be ascertained, he said the agency continued to comb the rubble to discover anyone else trapped.

Farinloye said that contrary to information earlier put out on the social media, the explosion which occurred at about 9 a.m was unconnected to pipeline vandalism.

He, however, noted that the resulting fire, from the explosion, later spread to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) oil pipeline passing through the area, though the pipeline had been shut down as a precautionary measure.

“From the information given by officials of the Lagos State Fire Service who are currently on the ground, the explosion is not connected to pipeline but might have occurred in a factory located in the Abule Ado area.

“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 about 3.30 p.m through the combined efforts of officials of the Lagos State Fire Service, Federal Fire Service and Nigerian Navy Fire Tender,” Farinloye said.

On his part, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osayintolu, Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said the government would carry out a thorough investigation to unravel the cause of the explosion.

“Our advice to people is that there is no need to panic. We are on top of the situation and the fire has been put out through collaboration by the various agencies.

“We can neither smell gas nor petrol, we can’t really say this is what led to the fire.

“We are still waiting for the outcome of the result to know the cause of the fire outbreak,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.

Also, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji, Staff Officer, Western Naval Command, told journalists that the students of Bethlehem Girls College were being stabilised at the Navy Hospital, adding that those who had fully recovered would be discharged.

Although he said the cause of the incident was yet to be ascertained, Daji pointed to information by some residents of the area that there was a large number of industrial gas cylinders close to where the explosion occurred.

He said the Nigerian Navy in collaboration with other security agencies had begun clearing the pipeline’s right of way across Lagos State, adding that the government should revoke the Certificate of Occupancy of houses sited very close to pipelines.

Chairman, Amuwo Odofin local government area, Mr Valetine Buriamoh, who was at the scene, ruled out pipeline vandalism as the cause of the explosion.

Different eyewitnesses accounts on cause of explosion

Though eyewitnesses’ accounts of the cause of incident differed, they were united in positing that the incident was an explosion like never before.

In different conversations with Tribune Online, they noted that they were yet to overcome the shock of an incident likened to a volcanic eruption, a bomb explosion.

Noting that Abule-Ado was not new to pipeline explosions, a resident of Abule-Ado area, one Fakeye vehemently maintained that Sunday’s incident was a bomb explosion.

“The disaster that happened today has never happened in the history of Lagos State. We have seen series of explosion of a pipeline in our community, up to three times, but it has never happened to this extent. What we learnt this morning was that the explosion came from Bethlehem school that shook everywhere both from Abule Odo to Festac down to Barracks. Everywhere vibrated, nobody can convince us in this community that it was not a bomb explosion,” Fakeye said.

Another eyewitness, Yusuf argued that the incident was a gas explosion fuelled by fire from a woman who cooked around the area.

“We saw flames coming out of the NNPC pipeline. To tell you the truth, it was not fuel, it was gas. It came out like a volcano. Then one woman was close to that church, around that place. She ran away from that light and that light attracted that gas and exploded. If it was fuel, you will see it pumping out, but I went closer to it, there was no fire. Until after about 15 minutes, we then saw fire. It was gas, not fuel,” Yusuf argued.

In her own account, first Vice Chairman of St Joseph Catholic Church, Mrs Margaret Ubiho, detailed how the explosion shattered the houses of many parishioners around the scene of the incident.

She decried that many students of Bethlehem Girls’ College who had come to church to attend mass and had just returned to their hostels suffered injuries in the ensuing stampede that followed the explosion that shook the foundation of their hostels.

Margaret noted that several parishioners of St Joseph church suffered casualties, particularly noting that a young couple was also killed in their house.

“We all came for morning mass and went to our various homes only to hear this terrible explosion. It was an explosion that was deafening. In actual fact, all of us in our various schools had to run to one corner and then ran out to find out what was happening only for us to see this ball of fire somewhere.

“The fire service has been here but they have not been able to put it off. There are a lot of casualties. The children were at mass there when it happened. You can imagine the stampede. A lot of them are terribly wounded, some are unconscious and we have heard of casualties.

“A lot of the houses in front of the place, belonging to parishioners, are gone. A young family, husband and wife, that I saw this morning are dead in their house. There are a lot of casualties. God should save this country,” Margaret said.

According to another resident of the area, Biliqis Jamiu, the blast came from a trailer who turned on the ignition of his truck while fuel leaked from a pipeline in the area.

“A trailer loaded from Ogun State, at the gate and waited to enter. When the fuel started coming out, he wanted to run away with his truck but he was warned against starting the truck. In his trying to run away with the truck, there was an explosion. There was a man and family who entered the vehicle when the blast occurred. They are all gone,” Biliqis said.

One of the victims of the incident, Mr Abayomi Abeyi, said his building was severely damaged while his wife sustained injuries from the explosion.

Churches, hotels, schools count losses

It was also gathered that the headquarters of the Lagos Province 3 of the Redeemed Church of God (RCCG) located on 24 Road, Festac Town, Lagos, is among over 50 buildings affected by a pipeline explosion.

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.

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.

Buhari, Akeredolu, Fayemi commiserate

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over Sunday explosion in Lagos.

A statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity) tasked the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to make efforts to determine the cause of the incident.

“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 sympathies to the victims, their families, government and people of Lagos State,” Buhari said.

Also, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, said Sunday’s incident reinforced the need for caution and vigilance on the part of all Nigerians, irrespective of status.

While condoling with the government and people of Lagos state over the incident, Akeredolu, in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, Akeredolu said the incident called for deeper introspection.

“Without prejudice to the outcome of a possible probe into this unfortunate incident, the loss of several lives and valuable assets to such an incident calls for deeper introspection, caution and endless vigilance.

“Sad occurrences of this nature, especially avoidable ones, can only be stemmed by our relentless and conscious efforts devoid of status.

“To my brother Governor, Babajide, the good people of Lagos State and indeed victims as well as those who lost their ones, including property, the prayers of the good people of Ondo State are with them at this crucial moment of grief.

“We share in their pains and pray that God grants all those affected by this the unbearable occurrence the fortitude to absorb this pain,” Akeredolu said.

Commiserating with victims of the incident, Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, urged them not to lose hope.

Fayemi, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Yinka Oyebode, regretted the huge losses recorded during the early morning fire and called on Nigerians generally to be conscious of the safety of their environment.

“We commiserate with families that lost their loved ones as well as residents and business owners who lost properties worth several millions of naira to the fire incident.

“The government and people of Ekiti State share in your grief and our prayers and thought are with you during this trying period,” Fayemi said.