An explosion took place on Wednesday evening at a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station belonging to NIPCO Plc in Benin City, Edo State.
According to FIJ, a substandard CNG vehicle installation caused the explosion that occurred in the Aduwawa area of Benin City. Among the residents injured in the incident were a person who sustained eye injuries and another whose leg was cut.
A source, who did not want to be named, told FIJ that a driver who shared an update on a WhatsApp platform he belonged to was in the queue waiting for his turn around 5:00 pm when he heard a huge blast in front of him.
“He jumped out of his car and ran away, likewise other drivers. On getting back to the scene, they discovered that a driver who had just installed CNG in his Audi car came to fill up his tank,” the source told FIJ on Thursday.
“During the process of filling, it exploded, causing serious injuries to the driver and a NIPCO staff. It was later discovered that the Audi had a substandard CNG cylinder installed in it, and it was not done by NIPCO gas,” he added.
FIJ found a 41-second video of the explosion’s aftermath on Facebook, where a male resident was lamenting: Na CNG gas o, na CNG gas. Na fake one. Live in Benin. Na God save am. One person eye burst o. They don rush them go hospital. One person leg cut. Illegal connection. CNG Make anybody no do illegal [CNG installation] o. This thing is very dangerous.
Another video clip on X revealed more damage caused by the same explosion. The clip showed two cars and a bus damaged by the explosion. A male speaker in the NIPCO gas station says, I dey Aduwawa o. NIPCO. Gas explosion o, gas explosion o, I dey here live o. I wan run. I wan reverse my car make I move o.
Also in the footage was a man with bruises in his abdomen area, and the speaker questioned why he didn’t go with a vehicle conveying another resident, whose leg might be amputated due to the severity of the injury, to the hospital:
Na the thing injure you like this? Why you no follow that motor wey carry that man commot go hospital where they wan see whether dem fit cut im leg. See your belle. Abeg, quickly carry yourself go take treatment. Make them help this man nau. Make them help this man. Where una management? Make them help this man.
The main speaker claimed that NIPCO helped interested car owners convert their vehicles to CNG-powered ones. But it seemed that someone had gone to the NIPCO outlet in a vehicle with a poorly installed CNG system.
When FIJ called NIPCO on Thursday morning for comments via the phone number obtained on its website, the lady who answered the call advised an email to the company was more appropriate.
FIJ sent the email afterwards, but there was no response at the time of publication.
This incident occurred at a time when concerns were raised about the safety of CNG vehicles. These concerns arose following recent CNG initiatives by the federal government as a more affordable alternative to petrol-driven vehicles in Nigeria. (FIJ)
