Some residents of Omitowoju, Ibadan, Oyo State, have
given a 14-day ultimatum to the management of Total Petroleum Plc to pay them
N750m as damages for properties that were razed in the community.
Some structures, vehicles and other property worth
millions of naira went up in flames on April 22, 2013 after a petrol-laden
tanker belonging to the company lost control and skidded in the area.
The legal adviser to the residents, Akintayo
Akinbola, in a letter dated May 14, written to the Managing Director, Total
Petroleum, Plc, Churchgate, Lagos, directed the company to pay the damages
within stipulated time or face legal action.
The letter read in part, “On the 22nd of April, 2013
at about 6.30pm, a petrol laden tanker belonging to your company marked LAG XJ
288 SMK negligently and without due care drove and fell off the road thereby
spilling off its contents.
“It is our clients’ claim that the explosion from
the aforementioned tanker led to fire razing about 60 houses in the area and
causing grievous bodily harm to some residents of the area.
“Our clients maintain further that the aforesaid
gave room to some hoodlums and miscreants to loot some shops in the area. It is
also a fact that three vehicles (a Toyota Camry, Volkswagen Passat and
motorcycle) were destroyed in the inferno.
“We are, therefore, by this letter demanding that
you pay our clients a modest sum of N750m which is the estimated cost of
rebuilding the houses affected by the fire disaster and replacing some of the
personal chattels and wares destroyed by the inferno.”
Punch
