Five people have died following an explosion at an illegal petroleum storage site in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers State.
The explosion, which occurred in a residential building used for the storage and resale of illegally refined petroleum products, including condensate, happened late on Saturday, April 26, around 11 a.m.
Youth volunteers from the One Million Youth Volunteers Network of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters in the Niger Delta, under the Advocacy Centre, confirmed the incident.
Executive Director of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, said five persons — four women and one man — were killed in the blast, all burnt beyond recognition.
Fyneface called for a thorough investigation into the incident and urged residents, particularly young people, to desist from pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, artisanal refining, and the storage or sale of illegally refined petroleum products to prevent further tragedies.
He also renewed calls for the Federal Government to legalise artisanal refineries through the proposed Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI), announced on July 27, 2020, and to establish modular refineries to formalise the activities of artisanal refiners in the Niger Delta, thereby reducing such incidents.
