About 100 suspected petroleum pipeline vandals were yesterday burnt to death along Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline at Arepo area in Ogun State.
Accounts say, the vandals were busy scooping fuel gushing from damaged pipelines when the fire suddenly started. The managements of Pipelines Products Marking Company (PPMC) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed an oil pipeline explosion at Arepo, Ogun State. Nasir lmodagbe, PPMC spokesperson, said in Lagos that the explosion occurred in the early hours of Wednesday. Imodagbe said that the explosion was caused by vandals trying to siphon petroleum product from the pipeline. “We cannot confirm the level of damage and casuality for now until the fire is put off.
The Southwest spokesman of NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, also confirmed the incident, adding that an unconfirmed report on a clash between different groups of vandals at Arepo was said to be the cause of the explosion. Farinloye said that NNPC had been alerted about the incident and the corporation had shut down the pipeline.
The area, once guarded by members of Odua People’s Congress (OPC) was said to have been left unprotected following the withdrawal of the OPC members by its leadership over non-payment of their contract fee by the Federal Government.
The NNPC management had called in policemen attached to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase’s Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism. Confirming the incident, the newly posted officer in charge of the task force, Valentine Olumese, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) who was also at the scene, said police have completed plans to take over the security and protection of the area
