A pipeline owned by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) exploded on Sunday, January 19, 2020, at Ekoro area, Abule-Egba, Lagos, claiming three lives (including a minor), whilst damaging several houses and vehicles.
Residents said that the explosion started shortly before 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) after which some vandals allegedly ruptured the pipeline in a bid to scoop fuel. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the raging fire caused panic among the residents of Abule Egba, Ile Epo and Ekoro Road due to the thick smoke which oozed out from the explosion scene.
Director-General of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Oluwafemi Damilola, disclosed that he and his team were told “some undesirable elements vandalized the pipeline,” escalating the fire.
Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, Acting Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) revealed that together with LASEMA “we have contacted NNPC to shut down the pipelines.”
The Governor of Lagos State, Jide Sanwo-Olu in his condolence message to the victims said that his “thoughts and prayers are with the families and businesses affected in the unfortunate incident at Abule Egba.” He added that “pipeline vandals will be shown no mercy.”
Sanwo-Olu affirmed that “security and information gathering along volatile corridors will increase and a stronger synergy with communities must happen.”
In a tweet on Monday, January 20, 2020, the Lagos state government announced that “After several hours of intense fire fighting by the combined teams of Lagos Fire and other agencies, the fire at Ile Epo Ekoro Road, Abule-Egba Inwards Baruwa in Alimosho LGA was successfully put out.”
However, this is not the first pipeline explosion affecting Abule Egba and its environs. In December last year, an explosion resulting from pipeline vandalism around Isheri-Olofin community in Egbe Idimu, LCDA left one person dead.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest crude oil producer and has resulted in several cases of pipeline vandalism, illegal bunkering, oil theft and sabotage across the country. Crude oil and gas pipelines have always been targeted by vandals, who breach lines to scoop crude oil for local refining in illegal refineries or for sale to international syndicates operating on the high seas.
Lagos, the country’s megacity has also experienced several pipeline vandalism with a majority leading to infernos in the past year. On Thursday, May 30th, 2019, hoodlums who were dressed in army uniforms reportedly vandalized a petrol pipeline in Mafon, Ejigbo area, Lagos. Later in November that year, another incident took place along Ayobo Road, Ipaja, Lagos, where a petroleum tanker loaded with 33,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit( PMS), went up in flames as a result of activities of pipeline vandals from a nearby ruptured pipeline.
Although the Nigerian government has enacted specific laws to address the issue of pipeline vandalism such as The Petroleum Production and Distribution (Anti-Sabotage) Act of 1990, these laws have proven not to be effective.
With proper monitoring and penalties, there will be a reduction in the rate of illegal bunkering in Lagos and across the Nigerian federation. The government is therefore saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that these laws are executed by appointed federal security agencies leading to the arrest and detention of defaulters caught at any level.
