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There was pandemonium on Tuesday in Lagos as the popular Olusosun dump site in Ojota burst into flames again.
Recall that the dump site which had been causing controversy between the state government and the scavengers had last month also caught fire burning for several days despite the intervention of the state fire service.
The fire incident which occurred around noon on Tuesday (today) was said to have happened without any trace. Eyewitnesses at the scene of the incident confirmed to TheNewsGuru.com team that the site had long been deserted by the scavengers and there was no activity to have prompted the fire incident.
‘The dump site had been causing serious controversy. The state government had long took over the site and was under maintenance by LAWMA. However, these fire outbreaks are becoming rampant and injurious to our health. I can assure you that the Lagos State Government cannot claim innocence in this incident. They are using style to push people away and possibly convert the place to something more useful. But they should be civil in doing that. Putting peoples’ lives at risk because of your selfish motive is just too bad,’ an eyewitness said.
When TheNewsGuru.com team visited the site, hundreds of men and women of the Nigeria Police Force heavily armed were seen guiding the entrance. When TheNewsGuru.com team approached them for comments, they declined.
However, an official of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) who spoke on condition of anonymity with TheNewsGuru.com team at the scene of the incident said the agency received a distress call in the afternoon of the fire outbreak. He said the agency was intensifying efforts to ensure that the fire is totally put out.
The inferno which was still raging at the time of filing this report was almost extending to the popular Motorways building at toll gate. People were seen scampering for safety with nose covers as the smoke made breathing difficult.
A visibly enraged passer-by, who managed to speak with TheNewsGuru.com team said: ‘I can’t imagine we have a government in this state and country. All they care for is elections and looting the treasury dry. Look at what we are going through here? Who will save us from this insensitive government? This is not the first time this site has been engulfed in fire. However, the response from government is rather slow and insensitive. Someone had collapsed earlier. Our lives is seriously at risk with this kind of smoke taking over the entire atmosphere,’ he said.
Efforts by TheNewsGuru.com team to speak with officials of The Ministry of Environment who came on routine check of the site was not successful as they said they were not on authority to do so.