September 29, (THEWILL) – A fuel-laden tanker, on Sunday, exploded near Okaki Junction at the Akenfa axis of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, destroying shops and houses in the area.
An affected victim, Smart Okhwo, who hails from Ofoni community in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state, narrated his ordeal, saying he got a call that his house was on fire.
Okhwo said his house as well as a POS kiosk his son was operating were already destroyed by the time the fire service got there.
He said goods belonging to some of his tenants who had shops in his house were destroyed by the fire and praised those who carried out rescue efforts before the arrival of the fire service.
Okhwo, who said the fire started when the tanker caught fire and spread to the surrounding houses and shops, blamed the police for the incident.
He said: “The serious thing is that it was caused by the police. Now, they have run away. They were stopping the tanker by using a keke to block the way.
“The driver tried to dodge the keke so he climbed the pavement. That was when the tanker did a summersault. The next thing was fire.
“That was how it happened. So, the government should come and intervene, especially for my tenants and those people who are doing business. During the packing of the things, you know how Nigeria is, most of the people came to rescue the things, but a lot of property was lost.”
Another house owner, Dennis Godwin from Delta State, said he travelled two days ago and got an urgent call to return because his house was on fire.
While expressing appreciation to God that no life was lost, he implored the government to come to their aid, saying the”government should do something”.
Another victim, a trader who did not identify himself but lost his goods in the fire, said, “All we need is justice.”
Nelson Meeting, a firefighter who led the fire crew, said they came as soon as they got the distress call but other road users did not give them right of way despite the fact that they were using a siren.
Meeting observed that onlookers who were taking videos of the fire did not give them enough room to work and called for a change while warning that radiation from phones was dangerous in such a situation.
“They don’t know that even videoing is dangerous because of the radiation from the phone. Next time, they should give way and allow firefighters to do their job. They should follow instructions from the firefighters,” he stated.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Musa Mohammed, who confirmed the incident, said it was not true that the policemen were the cause of the accident that led to the fire outbreak, saying it was just an allegation.
Mohammed, who confirmed that no life was lost in the inferno, said the driver lost control due to brake failure and hit the tricycle. He said the tricycle driver escaped and jumped into the nearby Epie Creek where he was later rescued.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
