The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has revealed that excessive pressure on the pipeline led to the gas explosion in the Abule Ado community of Lagos State on Sunday, March 15.
The agency’s Southwest Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, dismissed claims that the explosion was caused by a bomb blast or Improvised Explosives Devices (IED). According to Farilonye, a preliminary security analysis showed that an eight-tonne truck laden with core stone and parked on the pipeline exerted too much pressure on it. The fuel that escaped from the pipeline after the pressure remained overnight, saturating the atmosphere and forming a whitish substance before exploding.
Commissioner of Police (CP) Maikudi Shehu, who is in charge of the Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD), also supported the claims that the explosion was not caused by a bomb or an IED. He stated; “I can tell you that there was no IED there. The blast was not caused by IED. I am still expecting the report of findings from my officers to know exactly what happened.”
Recounting the incident, a resident of the community mentioned that the truck got stuck on the pipeline overnight.
An eyewitness said;
“The truck stayed there for so long and with its weight on the pipeline, the fuel in the pipe which is about eight-foot deep was trying to force its way out. That was how a smoke-like substance started forming from under the truck and soon developed into a cloud that covered the entire area and then the blast.”
These findings follow the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)’s statement that the explosion was caused by gas cylinders stacked in a gas processing plant near the corporation’s system 2B Pipeline Right of Way after being hit by a truck.