20th December, 2012
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has commenced building a foot bridge in order to have access to the site of the pipeline explosion at Ije-Ododo in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State.
NEMA spokesman, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday, near the marshy site of the explosion, which has continued smouldering almost 72 hours after.
He said the construction of the plank bridge was a collaborative effort of the agency and the indigenes of the area, as well as the NNPC, because of the swampy terrain.
“We had to wait for the sons of the soil and the officials of the NNPC before we could access the site,” he said.
Farinloye explained that safety demands the presence of specialists before anyone could make the last 100 metres or so to the spot of the explosion.
NAN reports that armed policemen arrived the scene, alongside a team of the Pipelines Products and Marketing Company (PPMC), at about 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday, to ensure that the spot is accessed and examined.
Though the cause of the explosion had not been confirmed by any of the relevant arms of government, it was suspected to have been caused by vandalism of the pipelines.