Residents raise alarm over pipeline vandals, cry out to police for help

Residents of Oke-Odo and Pipeline area of Abule Egba in Agbado/ Oke Odo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State have raised the alarm over the activities of fiendish vandals, who damage NNPC pipelines to steal fuel.

A cross section of the aggrieved residents who spoke with The Nation condemned the incessant activities of the oil thieves operating in the area.

They decried the indifference of the police authorities to their plight, noting that several complaints made to the divisional police station in Oke Odo, have not yielded fruits.

Spokesman of the distraught residents, who is also the chairman of Estate/Pipeline Community Development Association, Prince John Okunebe, described the vandalisation as worrisome.

He noted that several letters had been written to concerned authorities in recent times without tangible result or interventions.

He said: ‘’ The vandals have been vandalising oil pipelines here and stealing fuel and getting away with it. They would dig out the pipelines from the ground and would not cover them properly before leaving.

‘’We have cried out to several concerned agencies, state government and law enforcement agents including the police, all to no avail.

‘’ What we want now is for the state government and the police to come to rescue as we do not want to experience what happened at the other side of Abule Egba, where pipeline explosion caused by vandals razed several houses and shops.’’

‘’The vandals would come and hurriedly leave without covering the vandalised pipelines while fuel would spill into adjoining drainage in this community. Let the state government construct or build this road, as this would bury the pipelines underground.’’

Residents also condemned the exposure of pipelines which stretches to Aboru area, urging the Petroleum Pipelines Marketing Company to come to their aid.

The Baale of Awori community, Chief Lamidi Kosoko, urged the state government to rescue the community from the recalcitrant vandals to avert pipeline explosion.

Read also: ‘How herdsmen killed my husband on Christmas eve’

‘’We want both the police and state government to intervene and address our plight by stepping up security measures here, in order to prevent what happened at the other axis of Abule Egba, where there was pipeline explosion a few days ago.’’

Another community leader, and Vice Chairman of Community Development Committee(CDC) of the council area, Apostle Moses Oyeledun tasked the federal government on providing adequate measures to tackle vandalism in the community.

‘’ What we have noticed lately is that fuel usually spills into our collectors drainage anytime the vandals damage pipeline and steal fuel. Not long ago, the vandals struck and left the pipelines uncovered while fuel spilled into a river in this community killing fishes while pythons emerged from the creek of the river. Not a few residents fled their home for days to avoid being killed or burnt if there is pipeline explosion.

‘’We have written several letters to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over this matter. Officials of the corporation from Abuja  visited us and went round the community to inspect the pipelines but nothing has been done since they visited us.’’