By Ann Agbi

Disaster was on Monday averted at Ikotun, a densely populated neighbourhood in Lagos after a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline ruptured.

The incident, which occurred at Prince Adeyemi Street off Governor’s Road, lkotun, was said to have been caused by activities of pipeline vandals alleged to have operated at the wee hours of the day.

It was gathered that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from the pipeline flooded drainages on the street, causing a scare.

According to sources, the timely intervention of officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and other responders saved the day by blanketing the entire area to prevent fire outbreak from secondary sources.

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Our reporter, who visited the scene Monday evening, observed there were many shops on both sides of the street.

A mechanic, Olayemi Adenuga, whose workshop is where the leakage occurred, told The Nation that he was not around when it occurred.

He said: “I was not around when the main incident occurred this morning but when I came to the shop, I met some of the officials on ground.

“We filled the spot where there was leakage with sand and covered it with tyres as you can see, then the drainage where the PMS flowed through were flushed.

“The officials said they will return tomorrow to fix the pipeline permanently.”

Another shop owner, Taiwo, confirmed residents were warned to not ignite fire until the pipeline is fixed to avoid inferno.

Confirming the incident, the Director General (DG) LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu said NNPC officials have repaired the vandalised pipeline, adding that residents were advised to desist from open burning and use of naked flame until the emulsifiers applied by Fire Service fully digests the hydrocarbons/PMS.