Five Die In Rivers Explosion Linked To Illegal Petroleum Storage

An explosion at a house storing illegally refined petroleum products in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Rivers State, has claimed the lives of five people, officials confirm.

Five people have died following a deadly explosion at a house storing illegal petroleum products in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni area of Rivers State.

The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) confirmed that the fire broke out late on Saturday, April 26, leading to the deaths of four women and one man.

In a statement, 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.”

Dr. Fyneface called on government agencies to carry out a full investigation. He also warned residents, especially young people, to avoid pipeline vandalism, oil theft, and keeping illegal petroleum products at home.
He said,
“We warn residents against home storage of illegal petroleum products to avoid ugly incidents of this nature.”

He renewed his call for the Federal Government to legalize local crude oil refining by creating the Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) or setting up modular refineries to prevent such disasters.

Meanwhile, police authorities have also confirmed the explosion.

Speaking with journalists, the spokesperson of the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, explained what led to the fire.
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.”

Iringe-Koko also confirmed that four people died in the fire and assured that
“the police will investigate the matter.”
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