According to the residents, rice, the most popular staple food in Nigeria, has now become expensive.

Our correspondent who visited some major markets in the metropolis observed that the price of the commodity has increased by over 40 per cent.

Mrs Felicia Igbokwe, a rice seller at Ogbete main market said that a 50 kg bag of locally ‘destoned’ rice is now sold between N23,000 to N28,000 up from the N16,000 it was sold in January.

Igbokwe added that a bag of 25kg which was sold for N8,000 some months back is now sold for N16,000 per bag.

Another rice seller at New Market, Mr Okwy Ilechukwu disclosed that the price of foreign rice has equally gone up.

Ilechukwu said that a 50kg of foreign rice is now N39,000 up from N27,000 while, the N25kg is N18,000 from the previous price of N13,000.

Meanwhile, some residents expressed concern over increase in the price of the commodity saying that the ban on rice importation has brought scarcity and high cost of the commodity.

Mrs Helen Nnaji, a civil servant, said that many Nigerians believe that by now, there will be surplus of rice after the ban on rice importation.

“Many people thought with the ban on rice importation and the Federal Government’ intervention in rice production, the common man will be able to buy rice at an affordable price.

“The purpose for which the border was closed has been totally defeated as rice is now expensive for the masses,’’ Nnaji lamented.

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Ijegun, which has been having recurring pipeline vandalism since May 2008, is in the Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.

Our correspondent in the area reported that residents rose to the occasion and foiled what would have been another deadly explosion on Tuesday after vandals attempted to open a pipeline at a market in the community.

Speaking on the development, the Divisional Police Officer at the Isheri Oshun Police Station, SP. Rafiu Akinlade, told our correspondent that policemen responded immediately they were alerted on the vandalism.

“As soon a call got to me from the community, I immediately sent out my team but on getting there, the vandals had abandoned their tools and fled.

“However, my men have collected all the tools and pipes they came with for their operation.

“Although we are yet to apprehend the vandal, investigation is going on,” Akinlade told NAN.

A resident of Ijegun community, Mr Victor Mbuba, told our correspondent that residents became apprehensive when they heard screams, prompting scores of people to start removing their belongings.

“The smell was thick and this caused panic and fear of another explosion because the memory of the immediate past inferno was still shocking.’’

Another resident, Vitalis Okonkwo, a student, told NAN that his family ran out to safety, following shouts in the neighbourhood.

“When we perceived the fuel split all over the area, we ran out along with others in the neighborhood for fear of being trapped in another explosion.

“Most people are yet to return for fear of another explosion because anything can happen. Nobody wants a repeat of the July 4 explosion,” he said.

His neighbor, Mrs Bridget Umeorah, appealed to the Lagos State Government to provide security in the area to discourage pipeline vandalism.

On May 25, 2008, a pipeline explosion occurred in Ijegun community when a truck used in road rehabilitation damaged an oil pipeline, causing a fire outbreak that killed many people and damaged property, estimated at millions of naira.

Oil pipeline vandalism is rampant in oil-bearing Nigeria, perpetrated mainly by unscrupulous people seeking fortunes to make their living.

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