• Calls for vigilance to combat pipeline vandalisation
Piqued by the spate of gas explosions, the Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, has warned persons storing gas cylinders indiscriminately without following safety rules and regulations to desist or face sanctions.
Oke-Osanyintolu gave the warning during an assessment visit to the scene of a gas explosion at the Artists Village within the National Theatre complex in Iganmu, Lagos.
The Permanent Secretary assured that the Lagos State Safety Commission and other relevant stakeholders would unravel the root of the incident and bring anyone found wanting to book. He noted that the fire, which destroyed several 50kg cylinders, alongside a bungalow comprising three offices, was swiftly curtailed through efforts of the LASEMA Response Team and other responders.
Also, the LASEMA boss visited the site of petroleum pipeline vandalisation at Ile-Epo, in the Agbado-Oke-Odo area of Lagos and renewed his appeal to residents to be safety conscious.
While disclosing that two suspected vandals were apprehended and handed over to appropriate authorities, Oke-Osanyintolu warned against illegitimate activities that could jeopardise the life and property of Lagos residents.
Meanwhile, Executive Vice President at Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (Downstream), Dapo Segun, assured that engineers were on the way to fix the vandalised portion of the pipeline.
He explained that there was no need for panic, stressing that the remnant of Automotive Gas Oil in the pipeline is mixed with water, and that the line had not been used for a long time.
He assured that NNPCL has plans to bury pipelines deeper to make them inaccessible to vandals, adding that residents in such communities would be actively involved in securing the lines.
Residents of Ifedapo Pipeline Community Development Association (CDA) and Ese-Odo CDA, speaking through one Pastor Adebayo Shotunde, solicited the provision of more security personnel by the Federal Government to protect the oil pipelines and avoid future breaches.
