By Wole Mosadomi

Minna- The Depot of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Pogo Minna, Niger state has been gutted by fire.

Our Correspondent reliably gathered that the fire was as a result of leakages from the pipes from the Depot which was noticed on Saturday night before some black marketers stormed the area and started scooping fuel from the leaking pipes which later caught fire.

An eye-witness told our correspondent that the fire started around 11am yesterday and this greatly affected traffic along the Minna-Suleja road as vehicles could not pass through leaving commuters stranded.

No loss of life was however recorded as security Agents including the Police, Civil Defence and Niger State Emergency Agency, (NSEMA) were all at hand to spread to the main Depot and also kept the miscreants away from further scooping.

One of the staff of the Depot who confided in our Correspondent said “we have been on ground since yesterday the leakage started but despite our presence and vigilance, these desperate miscreants or black marketers eventually caused the fire outbreak as they still sneaked to the gutters to start scooping.”

“However, we were able to dislodge them from the scene later and this eventually saved the situation from getting out of control and also averted casualties.”

A resident in the area, malam Abdul Baba Mohammed told our correspondent that when the leakage started towards Saturday night, it ran through the gutters which later attracted the black marketers to the area who started scooping.

Photo of the fire at Pogo Fuel Depot, Minna

“Despite the presence of security men including Police and Civil Defence among others, the boys refused to stop and the fire eventually started but the prompt arrival of the state fire service to the Scene saved the situation from totally going out of hand.”

When our correspondent spoke with the Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mallam Ibrahim Yahaya, he said, “for now we have not been able to ascertain the level of damage because our primary objective is to see that the fire is totally put off and prevent these black marketers from further scooping in order to safe lives.”

Director General, Niger State Emergency Agency (NSEMA), Ahmed Ibrahim Inga while speaking with Journalists said,”We thank God everything has returned to nomalcy. Thank God that we alerted people quickly and we were able to arrest the situation and that was why there are no casualties and we have also started evacuation and things are going on well.

According to him, “there are no casualties for now, we are just trying to see that the fire goes down totally and then our men will go round to access what the situation is.”

“The scooping of fuel by hoodlums actually took place in the tank farm where the leakage started from but not as a result of bunkering”.

Similarly, the Director of Fire Service, Muhammad Babakudu allayed the fear of residents of the area of further outbreak of fire saying, “all hands are on deck to forestall the spread of the fire. As you can see, nolmalcy has returned but we are still on ground for any eventuality.