CONTROVERSY has continued to trail the Wednesday night explosion at a farm tank along Creek Road in Apapa area of Lagos State as experts from the Anti-bomb unit of the Nigeria Police, on Thursday visited the scene of the explosion
National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency , Nigerian Army and the National Emergency Management Agency also visited the scene but none of these agencies has been able to ascertain the cause of the explosion
The Nigerian Tribune gathered that the two tankers that were involved in the explosion had already been loaded with petroleum product, and that they both had minor fire incidents, before the real explosion occurred.
There were insinuations that the spark of fire from one of the loaded tankers might have led to the full blown explosion, that rocked the entire Apapa community
Security men at the scene also did not rule out the fact that the burnt vehicle might have been wired primarily for the purpose of bombing the tank farm thus creating a big explosion
There was heavy traffic gridlock around Creek Road as policemen, who were investigating the cause of the explosion, cordoned off a large part of the road, making free flow of vehicles impossible
A worker in the area, who identified himself as Fortune called for a thorough investigation into the occupants, and particulars of the Toyota Sienna vehicle, that reportedly ignited the explosion
The Nigerian Tribune gathered that the management of the tank farm, in its explanations to the security agencies, still claimed that nobody could ascertain the cause of the explosion.
According to the company, two minor incidents from the loaded tankers occurred, but they claimed that the incidents were thoroughly dealt with before they escalated
Meanwhile the image maker in charge of the state police command, Ngozi Braide, insisted that the explosion had, as of Thursday evening, had not been confirmed to be a bomb explosion
Braide said that “police have commenced investigations into the incidents, while bomb experts visited the scene today and investigations have started. I cannot tell you what the cause is until, when we conclude our investigations.”
She added, “I may not be able to tell you the number of people that died but I will be coming up with a statement later. We have commenced investigation. In cases like this you just do not go and be making statements up and down. After the investigation, we will come up with what transpired and make it known to the press.”
Ibrahim Farinloye, the spokesperson of NEMA, South-West, also claimed that “nobody can ascertain the cause of the incident for now but we have handed over the investigations to the police.
Source: Tribune
