A vandalised Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) oil pipeline on Monday exploded in Abule-Ado village, near Ijegun in Iba Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria.
According to an eyewitness, the raging fire started around 9pm on Monday when about 30 people were scooping fuel from the vandalised pipeline into hundreds of 50 kilogramme jerry cans.
The Information officer of the National Emergency Management Agency for South West, Ibrahim Farinloye told Channels Television that there might be several points of fire.
Mr Farinloye said both state and federal fire fighters called to the scene could not do much because of the swampy terrain. He likened the fire incident to the vandalisation of the NNPC pipeline at Arepo in Ogun State.
Meanwhile, supply of petroleum product through the pipeline has been shut to suffocate the inferno.
When Channels Television arrived the area gun shots could be heard from a close distance where the fire was burning, while vultures could be seen hovering the area, a sign some attribute to the presence of dead bodies around the area.
Abule -Ado village is a few kilometres away from Festac Housing Estate in Lagos.
This is the second incident of pipeline vandalism on NNPC facility in Lagos after that of Arepo at the end of August which experts say was responsible for shortage of supply of petroleum products in Lagos and neighbouring states.
