An explosion has been reported on Sunday night in the Sabon gari area of Kano city.
The explosion at a popular drinking joint was said to have occurred about 9.30pm.
Details later
Tag: explosion
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Suspected oil thief dies in explosion
A suspected oil thief was at the weekend burnt to death after a trunk line belonging to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) at Egbematoru in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State exploded and went up in flames.
It was also learnt that many of the oil thieves sustained injuries as they scampered for safety.
The fire was reportedly caused by a gang of suspected oil thieves, who attempted to break and siphon oil from the pipeline.
It was gathered that officials of Agip battled to put out the fire.
But there were allegations that the soldiers attached to the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, caused the inferno when they fired at some suspected oil thieves.
JTF, however, denied the allegations. It attributed the explosion to the activities of the suspected economic saboteurs.
The Media Coordinator, JTF, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, confirmed that there was an explosion in the area.
Bayelsa communities under the aegis of the Brass League of Friends (BLF) confirmed that NAOC responded by cleaning the environment impacted by a recent oil spill from its pipeline in the area.
Twon Brass, Okpoama and Odioma were affected by the spill, which was said to have spread to the Atlantic Ocean.
The incident reportedly disrupted fishing and compelled residents to call on Agip to arrest the situation.
BLF patron, Mr. Israel Sunny-Goli, in a statement described the company’s response as “an indication that the oil company takes issues of the environment serious.”
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Explosion rocks NSITF chair’s Asaba home
An explosion, suspected to have been caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), on Monday night rocked the home of Dr. Ngozi Olejeme, the Chairman of the Board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), in Asaba, Delta State capital.
It damaged the building and destroyed belongings valued at millions of naira.
The Nation learnt that the explosion, which occurred about 7pm, appeared to have been targeted at Dr. Olejeme’s bedroom. A huge fire engulfed the upper part of the building, destroying the roof and other parts of the house. However, nobody died in the incident.
An eyewitness said an explosion, suspected to be a bomb, either planted inside the house or thrown from outside, exploded and blew off the roof of the house, which caused a fire that engulfed the upper part of the building.
The Media Assistant to Dr. Olejeme, Mr. Victor Emeruwa, said preliminary investigations ruled out electrical fault or domestic cause.
He said: “The attack appears to be a desperate act by some unknown assailants. The bedroom of the NSITF chairman was targeted.
“The case has been reported to the authorities. Dr. Olejeme will continue to perform her duties with commitment to improve the condition of Nigerians.”
The Nation gathered that it took the fire service officials about five hours before the inferno could be put out.
Emeruwa said when Dr. Olejeme was informed of the incident, she replied with special thanksgiving prayers.
“Dr. Olejeme was happy that no casualty was recorded. She thanked God for sparing the lives of the people in the house,” he said.
The NSITF chairman recently visited her home town, Asaba, to assess the progress of her empowerment programme, courtesy of the Ngozi Olejeme Foundation. She disbursed empowerment items to women and widows in her constituency.
Dr. Olejeme paid a courtesy call on the Asagba of Asaba, Prof. Chike Edozien, to inform him of the progress of her empowerment programmes and also to rejoice with the monarch, who celebrated his 88th birthday recently.
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Panic as explosion rocks Warri Refinery
•MEND claims responsibility
•NNPC: no cause for alarm
There was pandemonium at the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) yesterday morning when one of the plants in the complex exploded.
Eyewitness said no fewer than 30 persons suffered varying degrees of burns, some very severe, from the explosion in a section of the complex known as ‘Area 2’.
The victims were taken to an undisclosed hospital, suspected to the NNPC medical centre in Edjeba, Warri.
It was gathered that one of the chemical or gas equipment that was used in a routine maintenance blew up and sparked off a fire.
The incident sent workers of the company and nearby Warri Depot of PPMC and inhabitants of neighbouring communities scampering for cover.
Attempts by reporters to get details of the accident were frustrated by plain cloth security operatives and stern-faced soldiers deployed in the area immediately the explosion occurred.
A cameraman with the Delta State Broadcasting in Warri was manhandled by the security operatives who also confiscated his camera.
The embattled newsman got his camera back after nearly four hours later, when the security men had wiped out the entire content of the tape inside.
The huge bellow of smoke that rose over the skyline of the twin cities of Effurun and Warri led to panic among residents.
The quick intervention of fire-fighters of WRPC, who were joined by their counterparts from Shell Petroleum Development Company and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), ensured that the fire was put out swiftly before it spread to other parts of the company.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed responsibility for the incident.
The militant group, in an online statement by its Spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, said the attack was intended to raze the entire refining facility.
MEND said as long as President Goodluck Jonathan continued to rely on an “unsustainable and fraudulent” Niger Delta Amnesty Programme, peace and security would continue to elude his government, especially in the Niger Delta.
The militant group, which earlier threatened more attacks in the Niger Delta, insisted that its Hurricane Exodus was on course.
The Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) described the incident as a minor fire incident in the Topping Unit of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, WRPC.
It said the fire was promptly brought under control through the combined effort of the Fire Department and other staff of the Refinery.
A statement by the Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Corporation, Tumini Green, explained that the fire, which started around 11am, was successfully extinguished without any fatality.
Green noted that the Unit involved was promptly isolated and shut down for safety adding that the exact cause of the fire is being investigated by the Management of the Refinery. She said appropriate steps would be taken to forestall future occurrence.
The NNPC Spokesperson noted that preparations are under way for re-streaming of the affected units.
Green said: “We wish to seize this opportunity to reassure members of the general public that the NNPC continues to hold sufficient stock of premium motor spirit(petrol) and other petroleum products and therefore no cause for panic buying.”
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Two months after losing two children to kerosene explosion:
Since a pall of grief fell on the household of Emmanuel Olisakwe and his wife, Jane, about eight months ago, the couple has continued to drench their couch with tears.
The Nation newspaper had reported about a month ago how the couple lost their two children to a fire outbreak on December 26, 2012, following a kerosene explosion that rocked their two-room apartment at No 14, Ikire Street, off Akeredolu Street, Olambe, Ogun State.
The fireballs had first landed on the couple’s five-year-old son, Miracle, burning him beyond recognition. He died the next day. Their eight-year-old daughter, Ebube, would have escaped unhurt, but the fire balls landed on her newly-fixed hair and she was severely burnt. She battled death for 17 days before she died in the hospital.
Emmanuel was severely burnt while trying to light a lantern shortly after he loaded its tank with kerosene. He was taken to the Burns Unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for treatment.
He escaped death by a whisker due to the prompt treatment he received at the hospital. He would have been discharged from the hospital about three weeks ago, but he has not been able to go home because he cannot defray his medical bill which, according to his wife, is about N700, 000. “He is removed from the bed whenever there is a new patient who cannot get a bed space,” she added.
She spoke further on the family’s plight and how she had been running from pillar to post in search of money.
She said: “Until the unfortunate incident, my husband was a tricycle operator and breadwinner of the family. I have practically been living on charity since then and I don’t know where else to run to for assistance.
“Although some people had forwarded some money to us shortly after your paper published the story, it was not enough to clear the hospital bill. We have been told to settle the bill or my husband would not be allowed to go home or sleep on the bed anymore.
“I don’t know what to do. That is why I’m asking for help from the members of the public.”
Speaking with our correspondent, Emmanuel said: ”I was discharged about a month ago, but I cannot go home because I have not been able to pay my medical bill. I have been asked to pay or forget about going home for now.”
Emmanuel, a native of Umunuko-Upkor community in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, further shared his plight with our reporter, saying: ”My condition has improved and I can now walk with the aid of a walker. But my greatest problem is the unpaid bill because I have been told to pay up by this weekend or face the risk of being asked to vacate my bed for other patients. At the moment, doctors have stopped attending to me except I pay for my treatment. Life has turned nightmarish. I don’t know what to do because my wife has fruitlessly been looking for money to settle the bill. It’s almost a hopeless situation and I just hope that kind-hearted Nigerians would come to my rescue.”
Jane, recalled the incident, saying: “The incident happened on December 26, 2012, at about 7 pm. My husband had asked me to prepare yam and fried egg for dinner, but I told him that there was no kerosene at home.
“While returning home, he bought kerosene at a filling station in Akute. I was trying to slice some yam when I heard my 10-month -old baby’s cry. I quickly left the yam to attend to the baby.
“Since it was in the night, my husband was about lighting the lantern after putting Kerosene into it, but the lantern exploded and burnt him and my kids.
“We just moved into the house about six months before the fire incident. Our 10-year-old son, Victor, is about entering secondary school, and it has not been easy coping with other domestic responsibilities.
“In fact, my son’s education would have been truncated but for the intervention of the proprietress of his school and some of her teaching staff who offered him a lifeline.
“I have been married to my husband since 2001 and we had four children. But we have lost two of them now. I have since been squatting with one of my friends because I cannot cope with living in the same house where the fire had killed my son and daughter and rendered my husband incapacitated.
“He is a native of Nnewi, Anambra State and a former employee of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). He lost his job after a major shake-up in the firm and has since been operating a commercial tricycle to earn living.”
Anyone who is willing to offer financial assistance can forward money to Mrs. Jane Nkechi Olisakwe’s First Bank account-3069048378. She can also be reached on 08139234474
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One killed, 2 hospitalised in Ebonyi kerosene explosion
A THIRTEEN-year-old girl, Chidera Nwoba, was feared dead yesterday during an explosion ignited by kerosene explosion at Mbukobe in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi state.
Two others, namely: Chibueze Ugorji, eight-year old from Isukwatu in Abia state and Uche Kalueze, six years old, from Akaeze in Ivo council area of the state were burnt beyond recognition in two other separate incidents and are now in critical conditions at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki(FETHA) due to the explosion suspected to have been caused by adulterated kerosene.
It was gathered that the explosions affected three different families who all claimed to have bought the kerosene from the same source, a road side kerosene vendor woman (names withheld).
The vendor, it was also gathered, claimed to have bought the kerosene from a filling station in Abakaliki.
The explosion that led to the death of Chidera, it was gathered, occurred at about 6.45am yesterday as she was trying to light a stove to prepare breakfast for her siblings, which burst into flames and burnt her to death before neighbours could put off the flames.
An eye-witness who spoke to our reporter said that he heard a heavy explosion and rushed out only to see that the house was in flames.
He said, “Before we could put off the fire, the girl had already given up the ghost but she was rushed to hospital where the doctors confirmed her dead.”
When The Nation visited the two victims, Uche and Chibueze, at the Federal Teaching hospital Abakaliki where they are still receiving treatment they were lying critically ill with severe pains due to the deep burns they suffered from the kerosene explosion.Mother of one of the victims, Mrs. Ada Kalueze, said that they were in the parlour of their house when power from PHCN went off and she sent her son to go and light the lantern. While the boy was inside the room to light the lantern it blew into flames.
“As I heard the sound of the burst of the lantern, I rushed into the room and saw flames in my room with my three children in the room. I entered the room despite the fire to rescue my children but the fire burnt Uche much because he was directly involved, I was equally burnt on my hands and legs.”
“The fire destroyed property in the room but did not spread to other rooms. I was the one who bought the kerosene from one woman who sells kerosene along the street. I met these people in the hospital with the same kerosene explosion case, they said they bought kerosene from the same woman, which I believe was adulterated, but now the woman is claiming that she bought the kerosene from a filling station,” she stated.
Police spokesman, DSP Sylvester Igbo, when contacted, said he was yet to be briefed on the incident.
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Explosion rocks Ibadan community
There was an explosion at the weekend at Alapata, Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The explosion, which was caused by pipeline vandals, occurred on Saturday night, forcing residents of the agrarian community to abandon their homes.
The valve pit used by the vandals was still burning as at press time yesterday, with thick smoke covering the area. The hose used by the vandals was found burnt at the Valve Pit.
Men of the anti-vandalism squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Police, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the State Security Service (SSS) visited the scene yesterday.
An eyewitness said nobody was killed.
A farmer, Alhaji Fatai Ayilara, told reporters that security operatives were alerted when strange movement was noticed around the pit last Wednesday.
Ayilara said: “We noticed strange movements around this area on Wednesday and informed security agents. About eight of them came around and we went round together. On Friday, when I closed from work, I observed that they had tampered with the valve pit. I went round and realised the padlock was intact. There was no damage to the iron there too. I thought the footprints I saw on the bush path were those of the security men.
“On Saturday morning around 10am, I heard noise from the pit hole and told some members of the community to alert security men. However, before we got back, fuel had already started gushing out and spreading into farmlands, a stream and adjourning areas.
“We informed security men and I left. I was later informed that the place caught fire. You can see the burnt hose they used by the pit. We need a bridge here. If a road is built here, people will ply the route and it will reduce the activities of vandals.”
The Chairman of the Ido Local Government Area, Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela, urged NNPC to fund a joint security patrol of pipelines in the area.
Olowofela, who spoke with reporters on the scene of the explosion, said an insider was among the vandals.
He urged the National Assembly to set aside a special fund for communities vulnerable to pipeline vandalism.
Olowofela said: “The place gutted fire but you must agree with me that those doing this must have some inside knowledge of how to do the job. I told the General Manager of NNPC that we need to look for a way of jointly funding a team to patrol NNPC pipelines in the council. It will be a joint effort between the community, NNPC and the council.”
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37-yr-old woman Loses two kids to kerosine explosion
Husband critically ill
Mrs. Jane Olisakwe’s heart bleeds. Last Wednesday when the reporter encountered the woman at a down-town pentecostal church, she was distraught. Although, she had been seen among other brethren in a concert of praise and hand-locking prayer session but when she opened her mouth to reveal her pains, her inner tears flowed like a running tap and she let the reporter know that she truly needed the divine to overcome her predicament.
The 37-year-old trader and National Diploma holder in Business Studies has just lost two children to a ravenous fire and may also lose her husband, who hovers between life and death on hospital bed, if help eludes him.
The Olisamekas were swindled of their relative happiness on December 26, 2012 following a kerosene explosion that rocked their two-room apartment at No 14, Ikire Street, off Akeredolu Street, Olambe, Ogun State.
Jane’s husband, Emmanuel Olisakwe, a tricycle operator, was returning home when he asked his wife to prepare yam and fried egg for dinner. He was, however, told by his wife that there was no enough kerosene to power the stove and lantern at home.
Emmanuel was to later branch off at filling station in Akute, Ogun State, to purchase a three -litre of kerosene and headed home. A few minutes later, he poured some of the kerosene into a lantern, while his wife was busy preparing the meal. As Emmanuel tried to light the lantern, it exploded and killed two of his children. He too sustained stubborn wounds that have not only refused to heal but left him bedridden.
“The incident happened that day at about 7 pm. My husband had asked me to prepare yam and fried egg for dinner and I told him that there was no kerosene at home to fuel the stove. While returning home, he bought kerosene at a filling station in Akute. I was trying to slice some yam when I heard my 10-month-old baby’s cry. So, I quickly left the yam I was slicing to attend to the baby who was with one of our neighbours. Since it was nightfall, my husband was about lighting the lantern after putting kerosene into it when the lantern exploded and burnt him and my kids,” recalled Jane amid tears.
As gathered, the fireballs landed first on the couple’s five-year-old son, Miracle, burning him beyond recognition. He died the next day. Their eight-year-old daughter, Ebube, would have escaped unhurt but the fire balls landed on her newly fixed hair and was severally burnt. She battled death for 17 days before she died in hospital.
“My husband was trying to strike the match when the lantern exploded and fireballs caught Ebube and Miracle, who were seated beside him. They were burnt beyond recognition. Neigbours helped us to take them to Ikeja General Hospital where my daughter died the next day, while my son died precisely on January 11, 2013.”
Life has indeed turned nightmarish for the mother of four and an indigene of Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, whose husband is now lying critically ill at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUCOM) as a result of the injury is sustained from the fire incident.
“Since then, my husband has been lying critically ill at the Burns Unit of the hospital because his two hands and legs were severely burnt. However, his hands have healed, but his badly hurt legs have refused to heal. We have just spent the sum of N200, 000 on a surgery that was carried out on his legs yesterday. But by my calculation, I could not have spent less than N2 million so far on his treatment through the support of family members, friends and associates. Yet, we still need more money to take care of his accumulated medical bills running into about N600, 000.”
An attempt by our reporter to speak with Olisakwe at LASUCOM was turned down by an employee of the hospital on the grounds that “the man you are looking for just underwent a surgery and cannot have access to visitors because he is to undergo strict observation for some days.”
The gaping hole which the unfortunate incident has created in the fortune of the Olisakwes is fast rubbing off on their children.
“We have just moved into the house about six months before the fire incident. And because of the trauma, I have since been living with our 10-year-old son, Victor, who is about entering secondary school and it has not been easy coping with other domestic responsibilities. In fact, my son’s education would have been truncated but for the intervention of the proprietress of his school and some of her teaching staff who offered him a lifeline.
“I have been married to my husband since 2001 with four children but have lost two of them now. I have since been squatting with one of my friends because I cannot cope with living in the same house where the fire killed my son and daughter and has rendered my husband incapacitated. He is a native of Nnewi, Anambra State, and my husband was a former employee of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). He lost his job following a major shake up in the firm and has since been operating a commercial tricycle to earn a living.”
Those who are willing to offer any financial assistance can forward same to Mrs. Jane Nkechi Olisakwe’s First Bank account-3069048378, while she can be reached on 08139234474.
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Explosion: Tribunal members visit burnt market
It was a tale of woes yesterday when members of the Tribunal of Enquiry on Fire and Explosion Incidents set up the Lagos State government visited Ojo-Giwa and Okoya streets, both of which formed part of the Jankara market that was gutted by fire last December.
The tribunal chairman, Justice Sunday Ishola (Rtd), led officials of the state’s Ministry of Justice and counsel to the victims to the site to inspect the affected buildings, some of which had been pulled down.
The inferno was said to have been caused by unsafe storage of fireworks by some traders in 45, Ojo-Giwa Street, which led to an explosion that left one person dead and scores injured. Some buildings were completely razed by the fire, while others, including Ansaru-ul-Islam Mosque and a police post, were affected.
As the members of tribunal alighted from their vehicles, traders and property owners of the burnt market trooped out from the adjoining streets with tales of lamentation. Some of them, who claimed their properties were not affected by the inferno, but were demolished, accused the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and Lagos State Urban Renewal Authority (LASURA) of demolishing their buildings illegally.
Mrs Bolanle Ibrahim, whose 39, Ojo-Giwa Street property was demolished, said her building was illegally pulled down against Gov. Babatunde Fashola’s directive that test be conducted to determine the condition of the buildings.
Ibrahim, who claimed her property was developed two years ago, said: “My property is located two houses away from the house where the fire started. The fire only affected the roof of my building because sympathisers acted fast. But in the wee hours of the following day, we saw LASURA officials with bulldozers and started pulling down houses, which were not burnt.
“In fact, my building was pulled down the following after the fire incident, which is not supposed to be. Because we were told that structural test would be conducted on our buildings but we did not see anyone to do the test. All the houses they demolished were pulled down on December 27 without conducting any test on them. I have pictures as evidence. I appeal to Gov. Fashola to come to our aid and help us reclaim our lands from his officials, who want to illegally take them on personal motive.”
Mrs Kafayat Afolayan, whose 14, Okoya Street property got burnt, said: “All we need is that government should give us approval to re-build our properties. We don’t need them to re-build the houses for us; we can do it ourselves.
An aged woman, Alhaja Banke Olanrewaju, said: “They want to take over our properties on the claim that we have sold all the houses here to Igbo traders. It is not true; we did not sell our properties to Igbo people. See me, all my children live here and we also take here. Please, help us tell Fashola that we did not sell our properties to Igbo people. This is where we grow up, we inherited the properties from our fathers and we are not going to sell them.”
Kazeem Kosoko, a resident of Okoya Street, said the property owners were skeptical about the plan of the government because of the rumour that the properties would be taken over, adding: “This is our houses; this is where we live. As these streets have been cordoned off, people thought nobody is living in these areas again. But we live here. The only help we want from the government is for us to be given approval to re-build the buildings ourselves.
Other members of the tribunal are: Engr. Wasiu Olokunola, Chief Richard Ahonaruogho and Mrs V.O. Fagbayi, secretary of the panel.
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Tanker explosion kills five in Niger
Five persons were killed in Mokwa, Niger State, at the weekend when a tanker carrying petrol ran into 10 stationary vehicles on the Jebba-Mokwa highway.
The driver of the ill-fated tanker and four others were burnt to death.
Ten vehicles, houses and property were also consumed by the interno.
It was gathered that the accident occurred when the tanker from Ilorin, Kwara State, lost control at Saw Mill area, some few meters away from the local government secretariat and ran into the stationary vehicles.
The area went aflame, razing houses and shops on the ever-busy road, causing a traffic on the road for hours.
An eye witness, Mohammed Ndagi, said lack of functional fire fighting equipment worsened the situation, as residents and sympathisers watched helplessly as persons and materials were burnt.
The Secretary of Mokwa Local Government, Mohammed Goro, dispelled rumours that the secretariat was gutted by the fire.
Police spokesman Richard Oguche confirmed the incident.
‘’I will give you details of the incident today,” he said.
Of the five bodies recovered, two were burnt beyond recognition.
The bodies of the victims have been deposited at Mokwa General Hospital.