There was pandemonium on Thursday at the Isheri-Ijegun Road, a suburb of Lagos, as residents woke up to see fuel spill the entire community.
Investigations by Newsclickng.com revealed that the fuel spill was caused by a broken petroleum pipe which passed through the area.
A landlord in the area who spoke on condition of anonymity with Newsclickng.com said residents woke up to the smell of fuel but didn’t know how bad the situation is until morning when they saw a stream of raw fuel on the busy Isheri-Ijegun road.
“I knew something was fishy when as early as 2 am my house smelled of fuel. Initially, I thought my children left the generator tank opened. However, on getting to where the generator was, I saw that the fuel tank was well closed. The fuel was offensive. It was as if my house could burst into flames anytime soon. Out of curiosity, I called my tenants and neighbours and they complain of the same thing. It was later we were told that a pipeline had burst at the junction and we moved there to confirm it. However, residents have been moving in their numbers to scoop the fuel. We want to appeal to the government and other relevant agencies to do something fast to avoid a repeat of what happened in the Ijegun some few years ago,” he said.
Newsclickng.com reports that residents who could not bear seeing the fear and the danger it portend have however started packing from the area.
“My brother this is death trap. How can I wait to see fuel litter everywhere and people even have the guts to go scoop it? Weren’t we all here when the Ijegun fire incident happened? Me I am not ready to die. I have to say goodbye to this community pending the time that the government will find solution,” a distressed resident said with loads firmly packed on his head.
When the Newsclickng.com visited the scene of the incidents residents were seen with different shapes and sizes of jerry cans to scoop fuel despite the presence of heavily armed security men.
A resident who identified herself as Lola said she joined in scooping fuel when she saw others doing it. “I woke up to see people bringing in fuel in different containers. I initially ignored but I couldn’t help when I saw that it was so easy. The fuel is streaming endlessly and we can’t allow it to waste. This is God’s way of rewarding us in this community,” she said.
Efforts by Newsclickng.com to reach the spokesperson of the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission, NNPC did not succeed at the time of filing this report.
