... says the DPO is abeting crimes and criminality

... eyewitnesses reveal cause of fire

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has directed the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole to immediately redeploy the divisional police officer, DPO, in charge of Lafenwa in the State Capital, for allegedly aiding and abetting crimes and criminality in and around the area, especially inside Lafenwa market and its environs.

He also ordered the arrest of all miscreants involved in setting on fire a petrol-laden tanker that led to the explosion on Sunday.

Governor Abiodun gave the directives during an on-the-spot assessment of the scene of the fire incident.

He said there were lot of reports against the DPO, stating that he was neither effective and efficient in carrying out his statutory duties of maintaining law and order in the area.

According to the Governor, “there are complaints against the Divisional Police Officer here, I want that DPO investigated. I also want him removed from this place, because this is not the first time that complaints have been lodged against him".

"We’ve gotten several complaints against him about how he mismanages this place, particularly as it pertains to miscreants that come and disturb the traders. He arrests them, within five to ten minutes, he releases them and that is why this place has continued to be restive. The thuggery in this place has not been contained", he said.

Governor Abiodun in his words said, "I want the CP to declare an emergency here in Lafenwa; I want every miscreant arrested because this kind of situation is totally unacceptable - where a tanker overturns, fuel that is highly inflammable is flowing through the drainage and someone wilfully ignites it so that they could cause chaos and begin to loot the market. This is very bad; it is just not acceptable; it is criminal".

He expressed regrets that people would be so heartless to set fire on the tanker when efforts by security and fire personnel were on ground to salvage the situation, adding that the sole aim of the perpetuators was not only to loot, but to destroy things in the market.

While calling for full investigation, Prince Abiodun urged the Police Commissioner to "ensure that everybody involved in this heinous crime is arrested and brought to book. We must make an example of them.”

The Governor described the loss of lives as unfortunate, noting that both Federal and State Fire trucks were also damaged by the hoodlums who also prevented fire trucks and men of Transport Enforcement and Compliance Agency (TRACE) from sealing off the area and protecting the tanker from going up in flames.

He gave the Commissioner of Transportation, Gbenga Dairo and the Commander of TRACE three days, to carry out an investigation into the immediate cause of the accident to find out the true cause of the incident.

The Governor while commiserating with the traders who lost valuables in the fire incident, directed the commissioner for Special Duties, Femi Ogunbanwo to take inventory of all goods lost, promising to provide palliative for victims.

In his response, The Babaloja of Lafenwa Market, Alhaji Musa Adeyinka, recounted the loss during the incident and thanked the Governor for coming around to sympathize with the market people.

A loaded fuel tanker had on Sunday morning fallen while going towards Rounder along the Lafenwa-Ayetoro road and spilled it’s content to the road .

Nigerian Newstrack had reported that the incident occured around 4:45am on Sunday while the driver was making his way inbound Rounder from Oju-Irin, Lafenwa area of Abeokuta.

The tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol overturned when its axle broke, and started spilling its contents on the road.

Some eye witnesses who spoke with Nigerian Newstrack on Sunday at the scene of the tanker explosion in the market blamed the police alleging that the officers were asking some of their colleagues to help them scoop the fuel while they denied others from scooping .

Pandemonium however broke out when some hoodlums in the market attempted to scoop the fuel from the ill-fated tanker but, were stopped by the police, a development which angered the hoodlums who reportedly ignited fire that triggered the explosion.

Shortly before the explosion, some hoodlums and traders were reportedly scooping the fuel that had spilled into the gutter at the failed portion of the road .

When the fire was ignited a mother and her grand child were caught in the gutter and burnt to ashes.

Eyewitnesses alleged that the police shot two of the hoodlums in the cause of controlling the situation while some others were arrested.

The explosion also affected some shops in the market as they were burnt to ashes, while hoodlums also took advantage of the situation and looted some shops before they were chased away by the police .

Nigerian Newstrack also gathered that five officials of of the fire service in the state were beaten by the hoodlums while attempting to put out the fire .

The hoodlums reportedly pounced on the fire service men for not arriving earlier to safe the lives and property that were consumed by the fire.

The Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, Babatunde Akinbiyi lamented that some residents went to the scene, scooping fuel and engaged in other unwholesome act, “which regrettably sparked off the fire which engulfed the whole area.

Akinbiyi said “two lives were lost in the unfortunate inferno, that of a grandmother and grandchild, whose gender cannot be ascertained, while property worth millions of naira were also destroyed.”

He explained that the corpses had been deposited at the morgue of the General Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta.

Akinbiyi said the mob vandalised two patrol vans belonging to TRACE Divisional Command, Abeokuta, and two heavy duty vehicles belonging to the Federal and State Fire Services, while some personnel of TRACE and Fire Service were also assaulted during the rescue operation.