By Deborah Nnamdi
At least five people have been confirmed dead following an explosion at a residential property used for storing illegally refined petroleum products in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers State.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) confirmed the incident, which occurred on Saturday, April 26, around 11 AM. According to the group, the fire broke out in a house where illegally refined petroleum products, including condensate, were stored for resale. The blaze claimed the lives of five individuals—four women and one man—who were burned beyond recognition.
In a statement, YEAC-Nigeria’s Executive Director, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, called for a thorough investigation into the tragedy and warned residents, especially youths, against engaging in crude oil theft, artisanal refining, and illegal petroleum product storage.
The group also reiterated its call for the federal government to legalize artisanal refining through the proposed Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI), introduced on July 27, 2020, or to establish modular refineries to help curb such disasters.
The Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, also confirmed the explosion, and noted that the police will investigate the matter. She said: “It was a condensate kerosene product that was stored to be sold.
“Somebody brought a lighted stove close to the place where the product was stored to cook Indomie and that ignited the fire”, she said.
According to Iringe-Koko, four persons lost their lives in the unfortunate incident.
