- Saga of communities at risk of pipeline explosion
A monumental calamity was averted last Thursday at Fagbile Estate, Isheri Oshun, a Lagos suburb, after oil vandals burst an oil pipeline in the community in the dead of the night and shattered the peace of the community.
Shortly after the dastardly act was carried out, petrol started gushing out from the pipeline with the fume enveloping the community and choking the residents, who frighteningly woke up from their sleep.
From that moment, the embattled residents became panicky and started fleeing the area at that wee hour of the night.
“We narrowly escaped death that fateful day. If there had been a spark of fire in any part of the community when the petrol was flowing in different directions, most of us would have been roasted in our sleep. No fewer than 500 residents would have been consumed by fire if such had happened. It is better imagined and we thank God for averting the calamity for us,” one of the devastated residents said.
Another worried resident, Victor Ademola, said: “I perceived the smell of the fume around 1 am. I stood up and checked with my neighbours but found out the problem wasn’t from their side. When I saw that the smell was from the pipeline, I took my wife and my children at that odd hour of the night and fled the area. Luckily for us, we got a tricycle operator who carried to without charging us more than they collect during the day.
“Leaving the environment at that time of the night wasn’t safe but when you consider the danger that was looming, it was a better decision. I learnt that the vandals have been surveying the area for some time before they eventually carried out the operation that put our lives in danger. If there had been a spark of fire anywhere in the neighbourhood that fateful night, the story would never have been the same.”
Reliving her experience, a resident Akpo Nkiruka said: “I perceived a thick smell of fume around 12:30am. I stood and checked round the house but did not see anywhere that petrol leaked in the house and newt back to bed.
Thereafter, I heard a woman shouting that everybody should come out because vandals had tampered with the pipeline. Initially, I was reluctant to go out because I thought it was a decoy by robbers. Later, my son said I should go out because people were gathered outside. It was at that point that I went out to see how the oil was gushing out. The height was higher than this electricity pole. I quickly left the house with my children that odd hour of the night. We just came back today after the dust had settled. Many residents are still living in fear in spite of the fact that the situation is very calm now. I want to appeal to the appropriate authorities to do something about our power supply.”
She added: “When I sensed danger, I quickly went to where I kept my money and took everything. I also took my ATM card so that if the unexpected should happen, i would have something to take care of myself and my household for about two weeks. That was the thought that came to my mind and I immediately acted on it,”
Another resident, Akogun Ayodele, told The Nation that the product sipped into the well in his compound and has consequently robbed them of the opportunity of getting water to attend to their needs.
“The maintenance section of the NNPC came and confirmed that the content of the well is 50 per cent fuel. That is a huge problem for us because that is the water we depend on for our house chores. We were all scared when the fume enveloped the community because fire is not any man’s friend.
“What came to his mind while fleeing his apartment was to carry his small bag. I took my small bag and left when danger was looming. I became aware of the incident around 3am. Like every other resident, I thought it was fuel leakage in a nearby place but later observed it was from the pipeline because the fume was too choking. The people who woke earlier started raising the alarm that we should all wake up and leave our apartments.”
A landlord, who gave his name as Moshood Obabiyi, said: “We are still worried by the development. The incident is the first of its kind since I started living here 30 years ago. The government and the relevant agencies should take proactive steps to avert a reoccurrence and the attendant challenges. We all ran in different directions when the ugly incident occurred. I ran away without waiting to wear trouser. It was only the jalamia (Islamic gown) that I had on me that I wore while fleeing.”
Barely one week after despicable incident, another case of vandalism was recorded at Babalegba area of Ijegun. The incident occurred on Monday.
It was gathered that the vandals scooped oil that filled a number of trucks from the pipeline and bolted before security forces arrived at the scene.
A source in the community, who asked not to be named, said prior to the incident, security forces were patrolling the area but were not in sight when the vandals struck again.
He wondered why the vandals could have loaded fuel from the pipeline for several hours without being sighted by law enforcement agents.
“It would take not less than one hour and more to load fuel into a 33,000-litre tanker. And for the vandals to have waited for several hours to scoop fuel into about five trucks in the dead of the night means they had all the time in this world to carry out their nefarious business unchallenged by security forces.”
Confirming the story, a senior police officer, who did not want his name in print, said: “The story is true. Unidentified vandals destroyed pipeline at Babalegba Bus stop and took away fuel in some tankers before our men arrived there.”
A chieftain of tanker drivers association, who asked not to be named, said the fear of being exposed by law enforcement agents is hampering intelligence sharing with security forces on the activities of vandals in the Ikotun-Ijegun-Ejigbo axis.
“In the past, we had reported the activities of the vandals to law enforcement agents only for us to receive threat messages from anonymous persons warning us to desist from reporting their activities to the police.
“It was a time a chief in this community got wind of an information that suspected vandals were planning to strike in the area, but because of our experience with policemen around, who we suspect may be shielding these vandals, we didn’t know who to share the information with.
“A decrepit pipeline on Governor’s Road, opposite Akinyemi Junction, Ikotun leaked on Thursday April 12. The damaged pipeline spilled fuel on the road as panicky residents ran for their dear lives. Although the pipeline is being fixed as I speak but the authorities of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should monitor their facilities well to stop this perennial destruction of pipeline and fixed damaged pipeline.”
At the Baruwa area of Ipaja, where vandals struck a few weeks ago, community leaders told our correspondent that security measures, including surveillance and vigilante services, had been stepped up to prevent a recurrence of the incident which resulted in inferno and destruction of property.
A highly placed source said the community is working in concert with the police on intelligence gathering and strict monitoring of places where pipeline routes.
“We do not want a repeat of what happened a few weeks ago when fire broke out after suspected vandals destroyed a pipeline and left it uncovered after scooping fuel into several tankers.
“To this end, the community leaders, vigilante groups and leadership community development associations in this area are partnering with law enforcement agencies, especially the police, to monitor oil installations and unscrupulous persons involved in vandalism.”
Another area that has gravely suffered from the challenges of oil spill in the state is Diamond Estate, a federal government housing project along LASU/Igando expressway.
The challenge appeared intractable in the estate as the residents said the problem began since the estate came into existence and lingers till date.
The residents told The Nation that the challenge has been causing serious health and environmental problems for them.
Thick smell of fume pervaded different parts of the atmosphere when The Nation visited the estate. Aside from the disturbing smell of the fume, traces of the spilling oil were always seen in the drainage and a well said to have been constructed by the NNPC to check the menace.
One of the residents, who simply identified herself as Blessing, said the despicable development has caused serious health challenges for them and also robbed them of good night sleep. “We don’t sleep at night because of the smell. We always resort to locking our windows to prevent the smell from coming in and that comes with a lot of challenges, especially when there is no power supply. The pillage has affected my borehole. I can no longer use the water to do anything. I now depend on my neighbour whose borehole is not affected to get water. The situation has been like that for the past three to four years without any hope that it would be rectified soon. We had fears when the problem was very severe. Then, vandals used to come and scoop oil and endangering our lives. Even though the severity has drastically reduced, the smell of the fume makes us to suffer headache and sneezing. We want the government to do something urgently about it to save us from the environmental and other health challenges that the problem poses.
Another resident told The Nation that no fewer than 30 tankers were filled with petrol in the wake of the problem. “The estate has been battling with this problem for many years and it is a good thing that you have come to check if it persists. We still have petrol spilling into some wells in the estate. Many homes cannot use their boreholes for anything. I even know of some who don’t cook because they fear that danger is always by the corner. How long would people continue to live in this disturbing condition in a house that some used their retirement benefits to buy? Do you expect such people to abandon their houses? And if they do, where would they go to?
“As much as 30 tankers were filled with petrol when the NNPC came to evacuate oil trapped under the estate’s ground. Imagine that quantity of petrol in a residential place and not an oil well. It is not really healthy for adults not to talk of the children. The NNPC has tried but they can do better. We are talking about lives and property here and no amount of or resources deployed to this can be too much.”
The Welfare Director of the estate, Mr Oluwafemi Aliu, admitted that a number of the residents are still affected by the development, saying: “There is no pipeline in this place. The NNPC has come and checked everywhere but found no pipeline crossing any part of the estate. The fume being perceived in some parts of the estate occurs only during the rainy season. It doesn’t come up during dry season. It is from the remnant of what was trapped under the ground that the smell oozes out.”
Asked where the oil spill that occurs underneath the estate comes from, he said: “That is the question that the NNPC would have to answer. They have actually done a good job here. They gave us two water tanks that supply potable water to the estate to mitigate the challenge posed by the spill. They have done well but we still want them to come and complete the good work they began before now.”
Findings also showed that oil spill has been occurring in Iyana Odo, another community contiguous to the Diamond Estate. A resident who identified himself as Emmanuel Olushola said they lived at the mercy of vandals who always stormed the neighbourhood in the middle of the night to syphon fuel.
“We had a rough time dealing with challenges posed by vandals for a very long time. Most of the time, their activities always leave the pipelines leaking and posing huge danger to us. On several occasions, they would come with tankers in the dead of the night and begin to break street lights so that they could carry out their nefarious activities in darkness. It was a period of anxiety because the hoodlums were always prepared to maim and kill anybody that obstructed their operations. Apart from that, the spill that often takes place after their activities always poses serious danger to the lives of the residents.”
