On Tuesday night, suspected militants blew up a gas pipeline in the Ogijo area of Ogun state. Since the inauguration of President Buhari’s administration last year, this is the first reported attack on oil installations in the south-western part of Nigeria. Although the Nigerian Police said it is still investigating those behind the attack, if it is linked to the Niger Delta militants after all, then there is a serious cause for concern on the safety of national infrastructure all over the country.

According to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area, those who attacked the pipeline came in two vans pretending to be repairers, from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). “I heard something making noise and five minutes after that time; I heard this thing [gas pipeline] blow up,” a resident told Channels Television. The blown pipeline supplied gas to some companies in the Ikorodu area of Lagos state.

Last month, suspected Niger Delta militants invaded several communities within the Ogun-Lagos axis, including Ogijo and Ikorodu. A resident in one of the affected areas, who spoke with Ventures Africa at the time, recounted the terrifying experience they were subjected to. “…this place is hot now. We are very watchful and we return back home as early as possible because of the militants killing people. This has been happening for some days now,” Ojelabi Jesujoba said.

Now, the case of the militants breeds more anxiety than ever before. The arguably most peaceful region of Nigeria is now being infiltrated by the suspected militants, and this raises questions surrounding what extent the militants can reach with their nefarious activities. The impact of destroyed oil facilities continue to hit hard on the country, as crude production, which reached 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2015, has now dwindled to about 800,000 barrels per day (bpd).