BBC Reveals Real Cause Of Lagos Explosion, Counters NNPC Claims

• Investigation contradicts NNPC explanation on cause of explosion

An investigation by BBC Africa Eye has exposed the cause of the explosion which occurred at Abule Ado in Amuwo Odofin local government area of Lagos state.

You will recall that a massive and reverberating explosion hit the area in March, more than 23 people were killed and over 50 houses were destroyed in the incident.

Among those who lost their lives were a family of four and Henrietta Alokha, an administrator at Bethlehem Girls High School, a Catholic-owned school where at least 60 students sustained injuries from the incident.

In its findings to ascertain the cause of the explosion, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) attributedd the incident to gas cylinders hit by a truck in the area where NNPC has its pipelines.

But in a 17-minute forensic investigation released on Monday, BBC Africa Eye findings contradicts NNPC’s claims on the cause of the blast that ruptured over 100,000 square metres of the city.

The video documentary showed how a leak of vapourised flammable liquid from an NNPC pipeline ignited and caused the explosion.

Also read: Updated: Abule-Ado Explosion: I Have Never Seen Anything Like This, Says Sanwo-Olu

New video evidence filmed at the explosion site, five minutes before the blast, shows a catastrophic leak of vaporised liquid at the exact location where the NNPC high-pressure petroleum pipeline runs beneath the ground through that area.

The BBC found there was no gas processing plant at the explosion’s epicentre. Moreover, analysis of gas cylinders found at the site after the blast indicates they could not have been at the centre of the explosion when it happened.

The investigation revealed that the NNPC pipeline was not maintained and protected.

When the BBC confronted NNPC with its findings, the agency again denied culpability and maintained its earlier position that a truck hit gas cylinders at an LPG shop.

The NNPC had said the pipelines are strictly compliant with safety and regulatory guidelines, insisting that there was no leakage prior to the explosion.