The explosion in Abule-Ado, a suburb of Lagos, was caused by too much pressure on pipeline, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Monday.
NEMA Southwest Coordinator Ibrahim Farinloye told reporters that the explosions had nothing to do with bomb blast or Improvised Explosives Devices (IED). Preliminary security analysis, he said, shows that eight-tonne truck laden with core stone, which was parked on the pipeline, exerted too much pressure on it.
According to Farinloye, the truck stayed on the pipeline overnight and exerted too much pressure on the pipeline.
The NEMA boss explained that fuel that escaped the pipeline saturated the atmosphere, formed a whitish substance and exploded.
Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of the Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Maikudi Shehu told our correspondent that there was no IED at the scene, adding that his men were still conducting investigations from samples collected.
“I can tell you that there was no IED there. The blast was not caused by IED. I am still expecting the report of findings from my officers to know exactly what happened,” he said.
Residents claimed the truck, which was moving into the street to a construction site, got stuck on the pipeline overnight and exerted its weight there.
“The truck stayed there for so long and with its weight on the pipeline, the fuel in the pipe which is about eight-foot deep was trying to force its way out. That was how a smoke-like substance started forming from under the truck and soon developed into a cloud that covered the entire area and then the blast,” said a man who claimed to be an engineer.
Some residents were moving into nearby houses of their friends while businesses resumed inside the International Trade Fair market.