A fully loaded NNPC tanker became stuck, leading to a severe traffic jam for commuters traveling from Oju Odo and the Synagogue Church area towards Ikotun in Lagos State on a Tuesday morning.
The Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Adebayo Taofeek, reported on this incident on that same Tuesday.
In accordance with the statement, LASTMA personnel successfully prevented a potential major fire disaster and ensured that unauthorized individuals did not attempt to loot the contents of the tanker.
Furthermore, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue team were on-site to transfer the contents of the immobilized tanker to an empty one.
The statement included, “Demola Muibi ‘Bravo’ (Zone 7), a traffic officer from LASTMA who headed the response team, revealed that an NNPC-branded tanker, fully laden with petroleum products, became entangled and blocked the entire road leading to Ikotun from the Synagogue Church.
He elaborated that to avert a potential fire disaster in the vicinity of the Synagogue Church, the LASTMA team, arriving at the scene around 6 a.m., promptly summoned other key emergency response teams, including the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services.
“We managed the situation in such a way as to prevent vandals and troublemakers from tampering with the fuel until the arrival of police officers from the Ikotun Police Division,” he added.
To ensure the smooth flow of traffic, motorists were directed to alternative routes.
“He confirmed that motorists were redirected via Ijegun Road for those intending to proceed through Ikotun/Ejigbo/Jakande, and similarly, those coming from Ejigbo were advised to use Ile-we and Liasu Road to continue their journey.
“Trans-loading commenced immediately once an empty tanker arrived at the scene, and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services executed the necessary procedures.