Police: Illegal Refinery Blast in Nigeria Kills at Least 12

ABUJA, Nigeria—An explosion and fire near an illegal oil refinery site in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region killed at least 12 people Friday, police said, although local residents reported a much higher death toll.

Grace Iringe Kooko, spokesperson for the state police said that the explosion in Emuoha was caused by illegal oil refinery operators trying to steal oil.

“Preliminary investigation by the Police Command indicates that the victims were scooping crude products when the site caught fire,” Iringe-Koko said.

Five vehicles, four motor-rickshaws and a motorcycle. “were all burned to ashes,” She added that authorities were still trying to determine the number of people who died.

The Associated Press received reports from people in the region that dozens died in the fire, which raged for several hours. They also said that many of the victims were young people who planned on siphoning oil from a pipeline to transport it to illegal refineries in at most five vehicles.

Fyneface dumnamene, executive Director of Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre said that a spark from an exhaust pipe of a bus carrying gallons crude oil ignited the explosion when the driver tried to leave.

“Everybody in about five vehicles there was all burnt,” Dumnamene said so to the AP.

Residents raced to the rescue, but the explosion was too much for them to handle. “a massive one which shook our buildings,” Issac Amaechi lives in the region.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, is home to many illegal refineries. They are especially prevalent in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which is home to most of the nation’s oil facilities.

Workers at these facilities are often not aware of safety regulations, which leads to many fires, including one last year in Imo State, in which over 100 people were killed.

Between January 2021 & February 2022, Nigeria suffered losses of at least $3B in crude oil from theft. Last year, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission(NUPRC) stated that shady business operators sometimes avoid regulators by setting-up refineries in remote regions such as Imo.

By Chinedu Asadu