The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu has called for a posthumous award for late sister Henrietta for her bravery in the unfortunate Amuwo-Odofin Lagos explosion.
The Minister who said this while he was condoling with the Government and people of Lagos State over the unfortunate pipeline explosion which occurred on Sunday 15th March 2020, claiming several lives in the process.
In a statement by the Deputy Director press and public relations, Mr Ben Bem Goong says the Minister wishes to commiserate with all the families of victims of the disaster, praying Allah to give them the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.
The Minister is deeply saddened over the huge loss of lives, particularly that of Students and Teacher and among others.
According to the statement, Mallam Adamu extends his heartfelt condolence to the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the parents, the Management and students of Bethlehem Girls College, Abule- Ado.
In particular, the Minister extolled the courage and bravery of the Vice Principal of Bethlehem college, Rev. Sister Henrietta Alokha, who died in the process of evacuating the students of the College who were under her care.
The Minister said he understands from media reports that the Vice Principal Rev. Sister Henrietta Alokha may have escaped the inferno if she had chosen to run away, rather, she chooses to risk her life trying to evacuate her students, thereby dying in the process.
Adamu said Rev. Sister Henrietta Alokha deserves a Posthumous National Award, for the heroic act of sacrificing life for children under her care, maintaining that the supreme sacrifice paid by Rev. Sister Henrietta must not be allowed to go in vain.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Sunday revealed that about 15 corpses, including a family of four, were recovered from the scene of Sunday’s Abule-Ado explosion.
The acting coordinator of NEMA in Lagos, Ibrahim Farinloye had told NAN that a couple and their two sons were among those who died in the Abule-Ado explosion. He said they were on their way to church when the unfortunate incident happened.
At least 60 students of Bethlehem Girls College located within the area who sustained various degrees of injuries were taken to the Nigerian Navy Hospital in Satellite town.
Farinloye said over 50 buildings, including Bethlehem Girls College and a popular hotel, were damaged in the explosion.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says that a gas explosion caused the blast.
In a statement by the Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, Dr Kennie Obateru, on Sunday, the blast occurred after a truck hit some gas cylinders stacked in a gas processing plant located near the corporation’s System 2B pipeline right of way.
He added that preliminary findings indicated that the impact of the explosion was huge that it led to the collapse of nearby houses and damaged some NNPC pipelines.