72 hours after Lagos tragic explosion, Buhari fails to visit scene

A community based group, Abule-Ado Stakeholders for Justice, has expressed disappointment over what it described as the nonchalant attitude displayed by President Muhammadu Buhari regarding last week’s explosion in Lagos that claimed lives and properties.

In a press statement titled “Abule-Ado Cries For Justice,” signed by Aare Oladotun Hassan, Oluomo of Abule-Ado Kingdom and Coordinating Chairman, Abule Ado Stakeholders for Justice/ President, Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide (YCYW) and Ayo Ademiluyi, Coordinating Secretary, the group expressed their dissatisfaction with President Buhari’s response to the tragedy.

“We must express our displeasure with the attitude of the President Buhari-led Federal Government to the unfortunate incident of explosion in our community. Apart from a press statement, we are aggrieved that the President has not deemed it fit to visit the Abule-Ado community, despite the magnitude of the tragedy.

“We are aghast that President Buhari prefers to view images of the explosion as shown to him by Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu of Lagos State rather than coming in person to view the scene of the crisis for himself,” the statement read.

Expressing their view further, the group said: “We demand an immediate forensic investigation of the remote cause of the blast, ancillary facts about the pre-blast and post trauma management of the victims.

“We are drawn aback to doubt the media reports of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on causation of the inferno tagged to a gas plant explosion, but we cannot phantom the magnitude of wrecks compared to an ordinary gas pipeline vandalism explosion.

“Precipitating the urgent demand from the office of the National Security Adviser to the President to swing into action by conducting a thorough review analysis and remote cause of the blast, considering the recent daring threats of terrorist attacks on Lagos suburb after the launch of Amotekun Security Initiatives, hence we cannot to totally right off the link of terrorism clandestine motivated attack on Abule Ado on March 13, 2020.

“However, we equally demand that adequate cordoning of the entire area is carried out in order to forestall the evacuation of relevant information and material evidences connected to the heinous crime.

“We are in the era of terrorism and herdsmen threats, for we shall appreciate holistic investigation and proffer both short and long term panacea to act of incessant explosions and criminal activities around pipeline corridors in Abule-Ado and by extension Lagos State.”

The group noted that “people of Abule-Ado, battered with grief, dare to speak about the devastating explosion tragedy, whose sorrowful images have captured the tears of the whole wide world.

“The natural tranquility that characterizes our Abule Ado  community was shattered by the explosion that happened in the early hours of Sunday, March 15, 2020 leaving behind a trail of death, sorrows, tears and bloods with buildings shattered to smithereens, for what can only be likened to a debris of a  warzone,” the statement regretted.

It however made the position of the group known on other issues surrounding the blasts. “We are seized of the media reports credited to the Federal Housing Authority that the landed properties at the Explosion site belong to the Authority. We call on President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government of Nigeria to caution the Federal Housing Authority from making such statements to people who are aggrieved victims.

“The Federal Government should focus on rehabilitation of the victims through resettlement schemes.

“We are not unaware of the constitution of an Investigative Committee set up by Governor Sanwo-Olu, headed by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.

“We call on the Obafemi Hamzat-led Committee to call Public Hearings in order for members of the Public, victims of the tragedy and civil society representatives to make representations before the Panel. This must be organized within the precinct of the blast preferably at the Abule-Ado Palace, in order to avoid impostors and intruders from hijacking the process.

“We are aware of two nominations of the Host Community into the Obafemi Hamzat Committee. We call on the Committee to open discussions with us for our incorporation into its operations accordingly.

“We are aware of the N2.5 billion Emergency Relief Fund by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. We are aware of the release of N250 million by the Lagos State Government into the Emergency Relief Fund. We are also aware of the appeals of the Lagos State Government for contributions by well-meaning corporate and individual citizens.

“We call for accountability of the Emergency Relief Fund to the community of Abule-Ado. We call for a democratic Emergency Relief Fund Committee made up of representatives of the community.

“We appreciate the quick response and intervention of the Lagos State Government and other aid workers and supports for the victims and medical attention so far.

“However, in view of the unimaginable magnitude of the wreckage of the blast wherein over 200 houses and hundreds of business shops at the trade fair plaza and not less than 3000 inhabitants rendered homeless as we speak, hence our appeal for an immediate relocation and resettlement of all the identified victims soon.

“We shall appreciate onward medical care and attention as well as reintegration efforts through onward psychological rehabilitation of the victims, based on the loud bang of the blast compared to atomic bomb in Hiroshima war,” the statement affirmed.