Five years after Abule-Ado blast, encroachments on NNPC pipeline raise fresh fears

On March 15, 2020, a deadly explosion tore through the Soba community in Abule-Ado, Lagos State, leaving 23 people dead, dozens injured, and hundreds displaced.

The blast, linked to violations along the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline right of way (ROW), destroyed more than 100,000 square metres of residential and commercial space in what became one of Nigeria’s worst urban explosions.

Five years later, the warning signs are back. Encroachments on the pipeline corridor have resurfaced, despite official pledges of reform, enforcement, and accountability. Businesses, including a car wash, block industry, scrapyard, and even a bar, now operate along the ROW, raising fears of another catastrophe.

For survivors like Oyerinde Damilola, the scars of 2020 are permanent. She was hurled through a church window by the force of the blast, sustaining injuries that required 108 stitches.

“I was putting on a yellow dress; it soaked my blood till it turned red,” she recalled, adding that she now lives with partial blindness in one eye. Her 18-month-old daughter survived, but 23 others did not—many of whom are now remembered with names etched on a community memorial stone.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) reported at the time that 276 residents were displaced, 25 injured, and 170 houses damaged—93 slightly, 44 moderately, and 33 severely.

In addition, 40 cars, three articulated vehicles, three churches, seven schools, a hotel, and a shopping complex were destroyed.

Initially suspected to be a bomb blast, investigations later confirmed that the explosion was linked to the NNPC’s System 2B pipeline, which runs beneath the community.

NNPC attributed the tragedy to encroachment and claimed the fire started when a truck struck gas cylinders at a nearby plant.

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However, a BBC investigation contradicted that account, showing that a granite-laden truck weighing about 25 tonnes had sunk directly onto the pipeline, fracturing it and releasing vapour that ignited.

Despite widespread outcry, no truck owner, operator, or gas plant proprietor was ever publicly held accountable.

Residents, represented by the Soba Landlords and Residents Association (SLARA), have since filed a lawsuit against NNPC.

According to SLARA vice-chair, Philips Akinduro, the community believes the blast was the result of pressure rupturing an already weakened pipeline. The case, however, remains unresolved at the Ikeja High Court.

Meanwhile, regulatory and enforcement failures persist. Residents accuse the military task force assigned to secure the pipeline corridor of leasing it for commercial use.

The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has also been accused of ignoring new structures encroaching on the ROW.

A visit to the site reveals that many pipeline markers have faded, while others have been dismantled by scavengers. “It’s not even a signboard. Who will know what it means if it’s just an iron bar and not painted?” Akinduro asked.

The Petroleum Pipeline Regulations 2022 mandate the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC), a subsidiary of NNPC, to install clear ROW markers and conduct regular patrols to detect hazards. Yet, as Soba’s encroachments return, questions remain over regulatory negligence, institutional impunity, and a dangerous cycle of forgotten promises.