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Lamentation as fire destroys Apongbon Bridge

By Bertram Nwannekanma, Gbenga Salau, Eniola Daniel, Jesutomi Akomolafe and Cleopatra Eki
24 March 2022   |   3:02 am
It was a black Wednesday for Lagos traders, who woke up to see their goods under Eko bridge near the popular Apongbon Market in Lagos Island in ashes, being the result of an early morning

Trapped motorists in traffic PHOTOS: ENIOLA DANIEL AND JESUTOMI AKOMOLAFE

Commuters groan, traders count losses as FG closes bridge 
• Orders illegal occupants to vacate within seven days

It was a black Wednesday for Lagos traders, who woke up to see their goods under Eko bridge near the popular Apongbon Market in Lagos Island in ashes, being the result of an early morning inferno.

  
The fire affected some adjoining roads, thereby causing massive traffic snarl in the area, forcing motorists to use alternative routes.
  
Tens of shops were razed and goods worth several millions of naira were consumed in the fire, which began at about 1:00.a.m.

Burnt container under Eko bridge

    
Besides the burnt shops and goods, some vehicles parked near the area were also gutted by the fire.
   
Although no causality has been recorded, affected traders said goods worth several million stored in warehouses under the bridge were destroyed.  
     
Eko bridge is one of the three bridges that connect Lagos Island, the commercial and financial district of Lagos to the Mainland.
 

Fire under the bridge

  
The destruction is coming barely three months after the burnt Lagos Airport link bridge, which took ten months to repair, was opened to traffic.
    
Although the cause of the inferno is yet to be determined at press time,  it was alleged that it was caused by combustible materials stored under the bridge.
   
An eyewitness said the fire was caused by a trader mixing combustive materials and chemicals without fire extinguishers in place.
 
A trader, simply identified as Chukwuma, said that the fire could be caused by petrol stored under the bridge.

Rescuers at the scene of the fire

  
He said that two weeks earlier, some concerned traders complained to the market leader on the dangers of having inflammable materials close to shops.
  
Chukwuma said that the leaders ensured that petrol was removed from there.
  
While Chukwuma was still talking with journalists, a group of area boys came and dragged him away, saying that he should not divulge such sensitive information.
  
But the Iya Oloja, Aranmoleti Esho Market, Alhaja Rukayat Adeola Balogun, insisted that the outbreak was caused by power surge.
 
Some of the affected traders and shop owners have been lamenting their losses.
    
Among them were those who sell flour in wholesale qualities, cake items, accessories, semovita and other items.
  
A trader identified simply as Emeka, said  N15 million worth of goods were damaged in his shop.

“l could not pick an item. I am really devastated and confused. We see street urchins (area boys ) on the ground having a field day,  stealing and looting goods, and pretending to be salvaging the items. Government should quickly intervene,” he lamented.
 
The incident grounded vehicular movement along  Lagos island to Apongbon area of Lagos, while commuters and motorists were held in traffic for several hours.
  
A commuter, Mrs. Adewunyi, said she spent four hours on the bridge.

 
“ I was stuck in traffic for several hours and l couldn’t get home, nor could l go further.”

“The authority should put a diversion notice to assist motorists on the bridge,” she said.
BUT the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA)  said efforts to put out the fire were slowed due to the buildings and makeshift shops around the area.
  
According to the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the fire incident was reported at 03:14 am and was confronted by the first set of the crew of the agency on arrival.
    
Director of the agency, Adeseye Margaret, said the intensity of the fire badly affected Eko bridge, slowing movement along the corridor, noting that the nature of the fire was ferocious.
  

 
She said there was no reported case of injury or death while fire fighting operations were still ongoing and would not end until the fire is completely put out.
 
As of 3:08p.m, yesterday, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Works, Aramide Adeyoye, could be heard making calls for water and chemicals to be brought to the scene of the incident to extinguish the fire.
 
Adeyoye said the incident is a sad one, which was preventable and avoidable because bridges are not places to store goods.
  
She maintained that till the bridge is repaired and reopened, all commuters and motorists will suffer the negative impact.
 
Supervisor for Environment in  Lagos Island Local Council, Mr. Audu Abdulrahim, told The Guardian that firefighters from the United Bank for Africa (UBA) swung into action to tackle the fire before they were joined by Lagos State and Federal firefighters.

Abdulrahim, accompanied by the Special Adviser to the council chairman on Wealth Creation, Ajenifuye Owolaje, said officials of the council were on the ground to support efforts at extinguishing the fire.
 
A water vendor, Hamisu Awal, said he supplied cans of water for more than two hours to help in extinguishing the fire, but to no avail.
  
Also, a worker of LASEMA while taking part in the operation, collapsed and was rushed to the hospital.

  
Speaking with The Guardian, NEMA South-West Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, said: “This incident is impacting and will further impact on the normal life of Lagosians entirely.
  
“It was reported around 6:00 a.m., but we learnt that it started around 1:00 a.m. I think they were trying to contain it on their own before it got out of control.
 
“We don’t know the cause of the fire, but definitely, they did not consider safety issues with the way they stockpiled containers, and it’s a major impediment for us to tackle it, we cannot even access the source of the fire.
 
Speaking on the challenges, Farinloye said: with the location of the containers and the type of containerised shops, there is no space to access the scene and the whole environment is congested, and the most dangerous one is the lack of fire hydrants around the scene.
   
“This afternoon (yesterday), we had another fire outbreak at the Marine bridge and it was put out after two hours. I urge that we need to be more safety-conscious,” he said.
 
He said that no casualty had been reported, and gave the assurance that adequate security measures were being taken to prevent hoodlums from exploiting the situation to foment trouble.

“As of now, we have taken control of the whole situation, the boys (area boys) have been managed, and I just asked for more deployment of policemen,” he said.
 
The zonal coordinator also raised fears about the safety of the bridge; hence the closure for the integrity test.

He said that there was no fire on top of the bridge but noted that interventions by experts were to prevent the fire from spreading to buildings or wreaking havoc.

While the rescue operation was on, many could not access Lagos Island with long traffic gridlock. As a result, going into Lagos by vehicles was almost impossible with many relying on motorcycles to access and leave Lagos Island.
 
A trader in the market, Alhaji Ahmed Jide Lawal: “I got to the National Theatre at about 6:30a.m, I had to go back to Orile, before going to Costain to park my car. “No movement and the only means to get to Apongbon was through motorcycle,” he said.
 
A good number of the traders whose shops were closed to the scene of the fire incidents either closed their shops to customers or partially open without displaying their wares. Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, said the rescue operation was slow in putting out the fire despite the long hours committed because of the inaccessibility of the fire point.
  
He said this was largely due to the various trading activities going on under the bridge, which obstructed the movement of the personnel.

MEANWHILE,  the Federal Government has commenced immediate assessment of the damaged bridge.
 
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Olukayode Popoola, said that the bridge would be shut for immediate integrity test after a joint inspection to be conducted by a team of engineers from the Federal Ministry of Works and a team from Lagos State Ministry of Works, at 3.00 p.m.
 
Also, the Federal and Lagos State Government have given all occupants trading and living under bridges across Lagos to leave in seven days, else they would be forcefully evicted.

 
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who stated this at the spot of the Apongbon Fire incident, said any who failed to leave by March 31 would be apprehended and made to pay for the eviction efforts.
  
Represented by the Director, Highways, Bridges and Designs,  Oluropo Oyetade, the Minister said the Federal Government spent a huge sum of money to repair bridges that are being endangered by illegal occupants.
  
According to him, the eviction of all illegal occupants under bridges across Lagos would be done in collaboration with the Lagos State government.
  
He claimed there was ongoing discussion to eject those trading and living under bridges before the fire accident.

“If not for the illegal occupants, this incident would not have occurred and government cannot continue to invest in such a disaster. There is a plan to eject all illegal occupants of bridges across Nigeria, like that of Lagos, and they have been given seven days to leave,” he added.

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