By Victor Otigbu

LAGOS — No fewer than 12 persons were  injured in a fire that engulfed the Oando filing station, at Alagbole in Ifo Local Government  Area of Ogun State.

The fire which started at about 9.40p.m, Sunday,  according to an eyewitness, also razed two commercial buses with number plates AGL 811 XE and LSR 552 SF and an SUV which was submerged in water and the entire filling station.

The fire service men who arrived the seen an hour later could not salvage anything as the entire filling station was engulfed by the inferno.

Many of the injured were rushed to various hospitals in Ojodu and Alagbole.

Vanguard traced one of the drivers of the burnt buses, Mr. Francis Njoku, to St Timothy Hospital in Ojodu where he said it was only God who brought him to the hospital.

Njoku who resides at 11, Ayegbamgbe Street, Alagbole cannot identify anybody as he is not able to see resulting from the degree of his burns.

He has also been referred to Lagos University Teaching Hospital where he was admitted at about 10.20 am, yesterday.

A staff of the Oando filling station who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity said he was alerted by a friend at about 10.30pm  that the filling station  was on fire. He decided to call the fire service office which arrived the scene at about 11.30 pm from the Isheri station of the the command in Ogun State.

Another staff of the filling station, who was very emotional blamed the construction company handling the road project for not providing an alternative water channel for the river. This, he said has caused untold hardship to their customers, motorists and commuters alike.

An official of the fire service told Vanguard that “we have have to thank God that no life was lost as it did not happen during the day because of the bad situation of the road due to the ongoing road project.