It was the day tragedy visited them and gave them a kiss of sorrow and death. Fire came and lapped up houses, shops, vehicles and sent souls to the graves. The day would be ingrained in their memory for a long time particularly because that was not the first time they would be playing host to such an incident. About 11 years ago, precisely May 15, 2008, residents were forced to relive the horror once again. Incidentally, the fire incidents all happened at the same spot-Fire Junction.
Mr. Kamale Karim has a house facing the canal. He lives with his family and narrated their narrow escape. “This thing started 5:10 am. I woke up early this morning and was going through my phone when I heard a bang. I looked outside; there was huge fire. I called my children. Because the canal was directly in front of us and the fire was burning inside, I told everybody to go outside through the kitchen. I told them to run to the next street through the kitchen.
It was learnt that the fire might have started from a Volkswagen Vanagon bus. The driver, one Baba Friday, also known as Jafan, was said to be anxious to get to his vehicle, the Vanagon bus packed in the area. He was afraid that if there was fire as a result of the smell of fuel that had enveloped the whole community, it might burn his bus. A certain Sukunmi was said to have warned him against starting the bus with the community enveloped with fuel odour.
Unlike in 2008 when the inferno was caused by a road construction tractor that ruptured an oil pipeline, this time, the inferno was a deliberate sabotage by pipeline vandals. According the residents, the suspected vandals came deep in the night, ruptured the oil pipeline that comes from Atlas Cove passing through Ijedodo before getting to Ijegun. The petroleum thieves, according Ijegun residents, operated from night till early morning. Some said they came with between eight to 10 tankers.
“Later, when my family had escaped, I moved towards where l saw the fire coming from. I saw two people that were burnt.
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