The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) has reported an explosion and fire incident at a storage of illegally refined petroleum product in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers State.
It received and confirmed the report in a statement signed by the Executive Director, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene and said the inferno reportedly occurred in a house where people purchased and stored illegally refined petroleum products including condensate for resale in the area.
“Members of the Advocacy Centre youth volunteers network under the auspices of the One Million Youth Volunteers Network of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters in the Niger Delta in ONELGA told the Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface that the incident occurred in the late hours of Saturday, April 26 by about 11AM, killing five persons, four females and one male burnt beyond recognition” he said.
“While calling for investigation into the incident, the Advocacy Centre warns residents and youths against involvement in pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, artisanal refineries and trading in illegally refined petroleum products including home storage to avoid ugly incidents of this nature.
The group also used the opportunity to renew its call on the federal government to legalise artisanal refineries in the Niger Delta through the establishment of its July 27, 2020 proposed Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) and/or Modular Refineries for artisanal Refiners in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region to mitigate incidents of this nature” the Director advised.
The Advocacy group says that, while it agreed that Kerosene is a petroleum product, it disagreed with the Nigeria Police, Rivers State command that it was as a result of “kerosene stove” and calls on the police to carry out more investigation into the incident to be fed with more facts of what really happened.
