Barely 72 hours after a burst pipeline killed more than 40 people, including suspected vandals and destroyed properties worth several millions of naira in Arepo, Ogun State, vandals have again destroyed another pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), this time at the Epe area of Lagos.
Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Shem Obasheye, confirmed this to Huhuonline.com on Monday, saying he authoritatively gathered from his men on the field that the pipeline vandals escaped arrest after bursting the pipeline.
According to Obasheye, the officials of the NSCDC recovered 11 jerry cans of 50 litres containing petrol at the scene of the incident but no arrest had been made yet.
This development follows a similar occurrence on Saturday at Arepo, Ogun state, which the government is still battling to resolve.
As at Monday morning, rescuers were battling to remove corpses that were still floating on the water, through which the vandals had stormed the area before the explosion occurred.
One of the suspected vandals, Sunday Reuben was arrested by the Police close to the scene but died later at the hospital. Before he did, he admitted to the Police that more than 50 vandals were involved in the failed operation.
He explained that while the operation was going on, one of his cohorts shot in the air after a heated argument with another member of the gang. The bullet hit an injured pipeline, resulting in the explosion.
“I was lucky that I wasn’t close to the pipeline. It was the heat of the fire that affected me. I managed to run to my boat where my mother was waiting. There were so many of us, both men and women,” he said while writhing in pains.
“We are more than 50 persons over there, and most of us are still inside that fire. Most of them are still in the creeks dying, please help them. A woman called a doctor who was about taking me to the hospital when we were arrested by the Police.”
Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who made an on-the-spot tour to the scene, faulted the government and the NNPC for not properly securing the place.
