December 25, 2007
In May 2006, the disgraced former Minsiter of Finance and World Bank lackey, Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said pipepline explosions in Nigeria was an isolated "accident", she even compared it to the pranks of siphoning gas from gas tanks in California, to the astonishment of the National Public Radio (NPR) reporter. Time to listen to Ngozi Iweala in this broadcast from Washington DC. Listen to Ngozi Iweala on NPR at the link: http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=5415239&m=5415240
Aba-agbo, the Lagos village where scores of people died in a pipeline explosion on Christmas Day, looked desolate yesterday.
The scene bore scars of the big tragedy that befell the little settlement.
There were two huge graves where bodies of the victims were buried.
Kegs of various sizes with which the victims were scooping fuel were still lined up at the scene.
The air in the area was hot and stifling.
The graves were covered by a mound of red sand. Many of those who visited the scene yesterday shook their heads in sadness as they looked at the graves.
Initial reports said 42 people died in the incident, but the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), yesterday put the casualty figure at 60.
The villagers who hid indoors apparently out of fear, said 45 persons died.
Tuesday’s incident occurred one year after the Abule-Egba, outskirts of Lagos pipeline explosion in which more than 200 people died.
PPMC spokesman Ralph Ugwu told The Nation on telephone that the fire had been put out. He said many of the casualties were vandals. Ugwu condemned the dastardly act and appealed to Nigerians to desist from vandalizing pipelines, considering its fatal consequences.
The explosion, according to NNPC spokesman Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, was caused by vandals who punctured the pipeline to scoop fuel. In the process, the pipeline caught fire and caused havoc," he said, adding that the casualty figure could not be ascertained.
Ajuonuma said although the fire had been put out, the heat in the area was searing. He said the exact number of those who died in the inferno would be clear later.
Ajuonuma regretted the incident, recalling a similar fire last year at Abule-Egba and appealed to Nigerians to join NNPC in fighting the crime.
"It is a crime that has a lot of danger. We talk and warn people and they don’t listen," he said.
In a statement later, Ajuonuma said: "Vandals struck at about 3a.m on the night of December 25, 2007 at Ikate near Atlas Cove jetty. Two points were punctured directly on the line and the vandals were scooping fuel directly into jerry cans and loading same into boats waiting on standby.
"In the process, fire ignited, resulting in several casualties. While we regret the loss of lives, we wish to reiterate that pipeline vandalism remains a serious economic crime that requires support of all well-meaning Nigerians to stop. We appeal to communities along the pipeline right-of-way of the NNPC to report all incidentc of attempted pipeline tampering/vandalism to the NNPC.
"The fire, which resulted from vandalism, has since been put out and the development will in no way affect petroleum products supply and distribution as the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) has been able to stock over 30 days of supply in strategic depots across the country.
"Meanwhile, effort to re-stream the line is ongoing. We, therefore, discourage any panic buying or hoarding of petroleum products in this season. We wish Nigerians a blissful Yuletide and a happy new year."
The scared villagers went into hiding for fear of arrest by security operatives. Members of the Red Cross Society were at work, searching for unfound bodies. They said the charred bodies of the victims they found had been buried in a mass grave.
Some villagers, who spoke with our correspondent were evasive on the cause of the fire. They said the death toll was around 45. The victims, they said, were mostly women and teenagers, who went to scoop fuel to make some money.
About three weeks ago, four officials of the PPMC were trapped in a pipeline explosion at Arepo, Akute on the outskirts of Lagos when a product line from Atlas Cove to Mosimi was vandalised and fire erupted. One of the officials died and four others were injured.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, confirmed that the victims of the latest incident had been buried. He said the burial was to prevent epidemics in the area, adding that health officials had begun to fumigate the affected coast-line.
Idris appealed to the Federal Government to secure the pipelines and warned Lagos residents against scooping fuel from vandalised pipelines.
Pipeline vandals had earlier cut open a section of the pipeline ferrying refined petroleum products from the Atlas Cove Jetty, Lagos, to depots in the South-West. They stole large quantities of the products.
When the villages found the vandalised pipelines open and gushing out petroleum products, some of them decided to help themselves - unmindful of history.
A similar incident in May 2006 claimed 150 of those who were also scooping fuel from a vandalised pipeline on the same creek.
Despite the series of pipeline explosions in Lagos in the past few years, people still build houses and live on NNPC pipeline right-of-way. For instance, the remedied explosion site of Abule-Egba has become a beehive of activities, less than a year after no fewer than 20 people died in an explosion there. The scenario abounds in many parts of Lagos.
Stakeholders have several times expressed concerns over the government’s seeming nonchallant attitude to the endangered lives of its citizens.
Shortly after the Abule-Egba incident, Ajuonuma told a foreign reporter that government has explored several options to dissuade Nigerians from tampering with petroleum pipelines but little or no result was achieved as the fuel scoopers attributed their acts to poverty.
His words: "Pipeline vandalism is suicided and it’s a criminal activity. So while what happened is regrettable, it does not justify anybody destroying government property. Now people give all kinds of excuses. They say because there’s hunger, there ispoverty, desperation, and so on and so forth.
"So we’re trying to educate people and tell them that there may be hunger; there may be poverty, but it does not justify criminal activity," he said.
"NNPC has a strong community outreach programme. We go out to the communities that have what we called the pipeline right of way and we educate them, and we talk with them, and we discourage them from building on the pipeline.
"For example, as an oil company we take our social responsibility seriously. These communities have schools built for them; they have health amenities. They have really the basic necessities for life. But what really happens is that there are a few people who are bent on quick money. They want to cash in on any little emergency they see to make quick money. "The Nigerian government has recently approved new measures to protect pipelines, including the use of modern technology. "The technology has gone very far. You can use computer sensor chips that can detect movements around the pipelines.
The government has just approved that a new set of measures be put in place, including burying the pipeline deeper into the soil. There is even a physical surveillance by security agencies. So everything is being done to protect the pipelines. But the most important issue is the education and enlightenment of people to know that nothing justifies tampering with an inflammable product pipeline. It will result in tragedy," he said.
Aba-agbo, the Lagos village where scores of people died in a pipeline explosion on Christmas Day, looked desolate yesterday.
The scene bore scars of the big tragedy that befell the little settlement.
There were two huge graves where bodies of the victims were buried.
Kegs of various sizes with which the victims were scooping fuel were still lined up at the scene.
The air in the area was hot and stifling.
The graves were covered by a mound of red sand. Many of those who visited the scene yesterday shook their heads in sadness as they looked at the graves.
Initial reports said 42 people died in the incident, but the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), yesterday put the casualty figure at 60.
The villagers who hid indoors apparently out of fear, said 45 persons died.
Tuesday’s incident occurred one year after the Abule-Egba, outskirts of Lagos pipeline explosion in which more than 200 people died.
PPMC spokesman Ralph Ugwu told The Nation on telephone that the fire had been put out. He said many of the casualties were vandals. Ugwu condemned the dastardly act and appealed to Nigerians to desist from vandalizing pipelines, considering its fatal consequences.
The explosion, according to NNPC spokesman Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, was caused by vandals who punctured the pipeline to scoop fuel. In the process, the pipeline caught fire and caused havoc," he said, adding that the casualty figure could not be ascertained.
Ajuonuma said although the fire had been put out, the heat in the area was searing. He said the exact number of those who died in the inferno would be clear later.
Ajuonuma regretted the incident, recalling a similar fire last year at Abule-Egba and appealed to Nigerians to join NNPC in fighting the crime.
"It is a crime that has a lot of danger. We talk and warn people and they don’t listen," he said.
In a statement later, Ajuonuma said: "Vandals struck at about 3a.m on the night of December 25, 2007 at Ikate near Atlas Cove jetty. Two points were punctured directly on the line and the vandals were scooping fuel directly into jerry cans and loading same into boats waiting on standby.
"In the process, fire ignited, resulting in several casualties. While we regret the loss of lives, we wish to reiterate that pipeline vandalism remains a serious economic crime that requires support of all well-meaning Nigerians to stop. We appeal to communities along the pipeline right-of-way of the NNPC to report all incidentc of attempted pipeline tampering/vandalism to the NNPC.
"The fire, which resulted from vandalism, has since been put out and the development will in no way affect petroleum products supply and distribution as the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) has been able to stock over 30 days of supply in strategic depots across the country.
"Meanwhile, effort to re-stream the line is ongoing. We, therefore, discourage any panic buying or hoarding of petroleum products in this season. We wish Nigerians a blissful Yuletide and a happy new year."
The scared villagers went into hiding for fear of arrest by security operatives. Members of the Red Cross Society were at work, searching for unfound bodies. They said the charred bodies of the victims they found had been buried in a mass grave.
Some villagers, who spoke with our correspondent were evasive on the cause of the fire. They said the death toll was around 45. The victims, they said, were mostly women and teenagers, who went to scoop fuel to make some money.
About three weeks ago, four officials of the PPMC were trapped in a pipeline explosion at Arepo, Akute on the outskirts of Lagos when a product line from Atlas Cove to Mosimi was vandalised and fire erupted. One of the officials died and four others were injured.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, confirmed that the victims of the latest incident had been buried. He said the burial was to prevent epidemics in the area, adding that health officials had begun to fumigate the affected coast-line.
Idris appealed to the Federal Government to secure the pipelines and warned Lagos residents against scooping fuel from vandalised pipelines.
Pipeline vandals had earlier cut open a section of the pipeline ferrying refined petroleum products from the Atlas Cove Jetty, Lagos, to depots in the South-West. They stole large quantities of the products.
When the villages found the vandalised pipelines open and gushing out petroleum products, some of them decided to help themselves - unmindful of history.
A similar incident in May 2006 claimed 150 of those who were also scooping fuel from a vandalised pipeline on the same creek.
Despite the series of pipeline explosions in Lagos in the past few years, people still build houses and live on NNPC pipeline right-of-way. For instance, the remedied explosion site of Abule-Egba has become a beehive of activities, less than a year after no fewer than 20 people died in an explosion there. The scenario abounds in many parts of Lagos.
Stakeholders have several times expressed concerns over the government’s seeming nonchallant attitude to the endangered lives of its citizens.
Shortly after the Abule-Egba incident, Ajuonuma told a foreign reporter that government has explored several options to dissuade Nigerians from tampering with petroleum pipelines but little or no result was achieved as the fuel scoopers attributed their acts to poverty.
His words: "Pipeline vandalism is suicided and it’s a criminal activity. So while what happened is regrettable, it does not justify anybody destroying government property. Now people give all kinds of excuses. They say because there’s hunger, there ispoverty, desperation, and so on and so forth.
"So we’re trying to educate people and tell them that there may be hunger; there may be poverty, but it does not justify criminal activity," he said.
"NNPC has a strong community outreach programme. We go out to the communities that have what we called the pipeline right of way and we educate them, and we talk with them, and we discourage them from building on the pipeline.
"For example, as an oil company we take our social responsibility seriously. These communities have schools built for them; they have health amenities. They have really the basic necessities for life. But what really happens is that there are a few people who are bent on quick money. They want to cash in on any little emergency they see to make quick money. "The Nigerian government has recently approved new measures to protect pipelines, including the use of modern technology. "The technology has gone very far. You can use computer sensor chips that can detect movements around the pipelines.
The government has just approved that a new set of measures be put in place, including burying the pipeline deeper into the soil. There is even a physical surveillance by security agencies. So everything is being done to protect the pipelines. But the most important issue is the education and enlightenment of people to know that nothing justifies tampering with an inflammable product pipeline. It will result in tragedy," he said.
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