BREAKING: Five Killed As Explosion Rocks Rivers State

At least five persons have been confirmed dead following an explosion at a residential home where illegally refined petroleum products were stored in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers State.

The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) confirmed the explosion and subsequent fire, which occurred in the late hours of Saturday, April 26.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, said, “The incident occurred at about 11 am, claiming the lives of five persons—four females and one male—who were burnt beyond recognition.”

Call for Investigation and Caution

Fyneface urged authorities to investigate the incident thoroughly and cautioned residents and youths against engaging in pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, artisanal refining, and trading in illegally refined petroleum products.

He said, “We warn residents against home storage of illegal petroleum products to avoid ugly incidents of this nature.”

Fyneface also renewed calls on the Federal Government to legalise artisanal refineries in the Niger Delta through the establishment of the proposed Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) or Modular Refineries for artisanal refiners to help mitigate such tragedies.

Police Confirm Incident

The Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, also confirmed the explosion.

Speaking with Vanguard, Iringe-Koko 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 added that four persons were confirmed dead from the explosion and assured that, “the police will investigate the matter.”