From Victor Edozie, Port Harcourt
No fewer than five persons have lost their lives in a petrol fire explosion in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers State.
The incident occurred over the weekend.
The Executive Director of Youth and Environmental Advocacy Center, YEAC, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, said he received and confirmed reports of 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.
Dr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface said the inferno occurred in a house where people purchased and stored illegally refined petroleum products including condensate for resale in the area.
Fyneface Dumnamene said 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 from Omoku told him that the incident occurred in the late hours of Saturday, April 26 at about 11am.
He said about five persons, four females and one male were burnt to death in the incident.
“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,” he said.
He called on 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 Modular Refineries for artisanal Refiners in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region to mitigate incidents of this nature.
When contacted spoke person of Rivers State Police Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko confirmed the incident.
She said 4 persons lost their lives in the inferno.
