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Wednesday, 19 December 2012

Scores of oil thieves feared killed in Lagos pipeline fire





Source: The Sun News

Scores of oil thieves were yesterday feared to have been burnt to death, while scooping fuel at a site of vandalised pipeline in Ije-Ododo, near Ijegun in Iba Local Council Development Area of Lagos, when an NNPC oil pipeline exploded. A witness said the raging fire started when about 30 oil thieves loaded in two canoes arrived the scene and started scooping fuel into hundreds of 50 kilogramme jerry cans.


Daily Sun learnt that luck ran out on them, when a mysterious fire started and engulfed the environment, including the thieves, their jerry cans and other materials. The fire raged for several hours, as fire fighters stayed away from the scene of the inferno. Some men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC) and NNPC officials were at the scene to assess the situation.

The NSCDC officer who simply identified himself as Mr. Baiye said: “You can see that the fire is still raging. We can’t go far to examine the damaged pipeline or know the number of people killed because the pipeline is buried under water.” Residents of Ije-Ododo who spoke in separate interviews alleged that the suspected oil thieves who vandalised the pipeline conspired with the police in their nefarious activities.

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