Following the explosion which destroyed many buildings and claimed not less than 17 lives in the Abule Ado community in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos, three additional bodies: two females and one male were discovered under the rubbles as dismembered parts of corpses littered the scene of the explosion.
Adducing explanations to the cause of the explosion, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in a press release signed by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr Kennie Obateru, on Sunday said the blast was as a result of gas explosion from a gas processing plant located near the corporation’s system 2B Pipeline Right of Way, residents alleged that it was a bomb blast and not gas explosion as put forth by government agencies.
Among the dignitaries that visited the scene for an assessment was the traditional head of Abule Ado community, Alado of Ado kingdom, Oba Lateef Olayinka who expressed shock and disbelieve with the sight that confronted him at the scene.
The monarch said, “I was surprised that such things could happen in this kingdom. I know it is not the wish of God. We don’t know the cause but whatever might cause it, we pray that such never happens again. If it was caused by gas explosion as speculated, I want to appeal to government to address the issue. The damage is colossal. Many lives were lost and property destroyed.
It happened about six years ago. Then they told us it was gas explosion but the impact was not as destructive as what we are seeing now.
The extent of the damage was not as huge as this. Many lives were lost and property destroyed. This is not the first time something like this would be happening but this is too much.
“I am appealing to the Lagos State Government to investigate and address what might have caused the explosion.”
A resident in Abule Ado, Akeem Sulaiman told newsmen that the blast was as a result of bomb planted within the community by unknown persons.
He stated that it is only a bomb explosion that could wreak havoc of such magnitude tearing and dismembering victims’ bodies and property.
He said, “I suspect a cover up and conspiracy by the Lagos State Government and its agencies. This isn’t a gas explosion. In 2014, there was an explosion which was caused by gas. We all saw the extent of the damage occasioned by the explosion. It was not as destructive as this. It affected few buildings and not many deaths were recorded.
But the blast of Sunday March 15 was far different from gas explosion. Look at the number of lives and the property that were lost. The blast was so massive that it shook the whole city of Lagos even my cousin called me from Ota that he heard the sound. It was like an earthquake.
“It tore apart buildings, rooftops and bodies of those that were in their houses and preparing to go for church services.
This was not a gas explosion. It was a bomb planted at the school premises. I want to implore the Lagos State Government to investigate the cause to allay the fears of residents. Who knows, this might be a case of terrorism.”
As aid workers intensified rescue efforts with the only excavator digging down the rubble to uncover corpses of victims of the explosion, wailing and pacing back and forth the scene of the explosion with the picture of a young man held to her chest was Mrs Gania Adegbola who claimed his eldest son, a 25-year-old Segun Senapo who works at a construction site in Abule Ado has been missing since the blast.
Few minutes before the blast around 9am, Mrs Adegbola stated that she spoke with Segun over the phone but his telephone, she said, had been switched off since after the blast.
She said, “I called Segun in the morning around 9am on Sunday before the explosion. And he told me he was at work in Abule Ado. Few minutes after our conversation, I heard a loud bang which I thought was a thunder clap. I thought it was about to rain.
“But when his younger brother came around in the evening, he informed me about the explosion. Since then I have been calling his line which has been switched off. I have been searching for him since then.
“Segun is our breadwinner. He is the husband I never had. I pray nothing happens to him because I have been to everywhere searching for him to no avail.”
While Mrs Adegbola continued her lone search for her eldest son, the aid workers, Red Cross Society paraded a three-year-old survivor identified as Favour who was found wandering the scene of the explosion.
According to Nigerian Red Cross, Lagos Branch Chairman, Mrs Adebola Kolawole, Favour’s mother was trapped in the rubble.
She said she was in an unconscious state as a result of the head injury she sustained in the collapsed building.
She was thereafter admitted at the Navy Hospital, Alakija where she regained consciousness.
Narrating the incidence that led to how Favour was found, Kolawole said, “In one of our rescue missions, we saw Favour wandering around naked. It was around 10pm. We started looking for the mother whom we later discovered had been trapped under the rubble. She had injuries on her head and bruises all over her body.
In her subconscious state, she responded to feelings but she couldn’t talk. The little girl, Favour was found with dust on her and wandering about the community without wearing any clothes and we were told her mother had been trapped in the wreckage.
When taken to her mother, Favour couldn’t recognise her mother because of the facial damages.
But this morning (Monday), she regained consciousness and was able to recognise her baby. A doctor at the Navy Hospital has told her that her baby is with us and very soon we would take her to see her mother. The Red Cross discovered the injured mother and Favour’s brother.”
Speaking on the number of casualties, Kolawole said the figures are increasing as three new bodies were found.
“The figures are still counting. Three bodies have been recovered today (Monday) with many dismembered bodies with severe burnt. We were able to speak to some of the affected victims reassuring and giving them hope of a better life after the incidence.
“The damage is massive. Many property were destroyed and many lives which cannot be replaced were lost.
“The Governor of Lagos State, Sanwo-Olu Babajide, has been an active and humanitarian leader. He is not going to close his eyes and allow this to go unaddressed. I am sure he would caution whoever has erred and bring them to book.
“I want to implore him to order investigation into the incidence and bring them to justice.
“As I speak, the Lagos State Red Cross doesn’t have a single ambulance to be used during emergency. Our vehicles were not in good shape. We have three buses which are now rickety that were given to us during the tenure of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu when he was governor of Lagos State.”
