Residents of Abule-Ado in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, Lagos State and its surroundings are counting their losses even as hundreds have been rendered homeless and jobless following tremor-like explosion that happened at the place, on Sunday.
In what appeared like gas explosion, hundreds of two and three storey buildings as well as bungalows that dot the entire landscape of Abule-Ado were destroyed. While some went up in flames, other had their roofs sqeezed, shrunk and broken in bits with parts of the building caving in.
However, residents have refused to accept claims in some quarters that it was a gas explosion. They said it was a clear case of bomb explosion, but who planted the bomb remained unknown as at the time of this report.
A resident who identified herself as Mama Divine buttressed residents’ assumption with information they got from soldiers guarding the pipeline as well as the effect of the explosion.
She said: “My brother, that is a bomb explosion. My street is very far from the scene of the explosion but all the storey buildings on that street which had PVCs lost them to the explosion. The whole buildings shook and their PVCs all fell off.”
Again, according the security personnel who were guarding the pipeline, the thing came like a rocket and hit the pipeline and the next thing was that smoke starting oozing out, forming thick smoke before the deafening sound, which was followed by the destruction.”Another resident, Mr Mike corroborated Mama Divine’s assertion, insisting that the perpetrators must have targeted the Lagos Trade Fair Complex, which is only demarketed from Abule-Ado by a fence, or the Bethlehem College, owned by the Catholic Church.
“The Bethlehem College was badly affected, with many boarding students sustaining injuries. In fact, nobody can say the exact number of persons that died at the college, but information so far indicates that a Reverend Sister is still missing since after the explosion. Her phone is ringing but she is not picking and nobody has seen her. Another sister, a female worker at the college was roasted beyond recognition.”Many of the students are currently in different nearby hospitals receiving treatments, while so many others are yet to be found. That’s why I said that nobody can give accurate casualty figure at the College for now,” Mike said.
here is also an unconfirmed report from some residents that the principal of the College is dead. While some attributed the principal’s death to shock, others said she might have died of suffocation from the thick smoke that engulfed the school.
The owner of the Garden Resort Hotel, located on Garden Resort Street, Off Gani Adams Way, Abule-Ado, is currently in hospital receiving treatment.
According his wife, who spoke o reporters, the incident which happened between 8:00am and 9:00am yesterday left a lot of their workers, including her husband seriously wounded.”I have 15 lodgers and about eight workers, who were here before the incident. As I speak to you now, I don’t know their whereabouts. A member of my church even died in this incident. The principal of Bethlehem College is already dead. A lot of children in that school also died. What happened here is more than pipeline explosion; it looks like bomb,’ she narrated.
Another resident who identified himself Joseph Ejindu said his son is also in hospital. Ejindu, who lives on Garden Resort said he lost everything to the incident.”The person who planted this bomb is even sympathetic to have done it on Sunday. If it were on Monday, the death figure could have been more devastating,” volunteered a sympathetic onlooker.
There is also insinuation by some residents that the bomb might have been planted in a tipper truck, which was also burnt beyond recognition.
According the resident who refused to give his name, “E be like say na that tipper carry the bomb. People wet dey around that money said as soon as the tipper stopped, the person wet drive am just pack and disappeared. And, soon after that, the explosion happened and the tipper too got burn. So, e be like say na the tipper carry the bomb come.”Right now, hundreds of residents are moving what remains of their property out if the scene. While many are seeking refuge in their relatives homes, others are stranded even as many others are moving into their shops. Abule-Ado is majorly populated by Igbo businessmen and women at the old Lagos Trade Fair, along Badagry Expressway.
