Posted by The PM News on
At least 10 vehicles and a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God were razed down yesterday, when fire swept through a mechanic workshop at Ejigbo, a Lagos suburb.
At least 10 vehicles and a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God were razed down yesterday, when fire swept through a mechanic workshop at Ejigbo, a Lagos suburb.
P.M.News gathered that the fire was caused by the illegal activities of oil bunkerers in the area. Investigations revealed that the illegal bunkerers were offloading a tanker in front of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), at 13, NNPC Road, Ejigbo, about 50 metres from the NNPC second gate, when a passer-by smoking ciggaratte caused a spark and fire enveloped the area, at about 1 p.m.
The fire gutted 10 vehicles in the mechanic workshop and spread to the church, burning everything, including an electricity generating set, drum set, bags of cement, white plastic chairs, iron sheets, tables and other wooden materials.
A shop owner beside the church, who simply identified herself as Yemisi, corroborated eye witness account that the fire was ignited where bunkerers were offloading petroleum products. They fled the scene immediately the fire broke out.
P.M.News learnt that a combined team of firemen from the Lagos State Fire and Safety Services from Alausa and the Federal Fire Service succeeded in bringing the raging fire under control within 30 minutes. Contacted, Senior Pastor of the burnt church, Roberts Ibikunle, said he received the sad news and was rushing to the scene.
'We cannot estimate the loss our church has incurred right now. You can see everything was completely burnt. We need time to do that,' said Ibikunle. Speaking with P.M.News, a resident in the area, Abubakar Adinkwe-Fodio, called on government to build a solid demarcation between the NNPC Depot and buildings in the area. However, head of the firemen from Alausa, M. K. Adekoya, refused to speak with our reporters on the incident, saying, as a civil servant, he could not talk to the press.