Scores of people have been killed in southeast Nigeria after an illegal petroleum refinery exploded, the authorities said Saturday.
The explosion, which some say might have killed over 100 people, occurred Friday night at the Abaezi forest in the Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, while the illegal refinery being operated there exploded.
Those killed in the inferno were said to include workers at the factory and customers who had gathered to buy the product from the illegal structure. Pictures from the site of the explosion show that about six vehicles were burnt in the explosion.
Nigeria, Africa’ largest oil producer, currently has no functional refinery to supply products for the country’s over 200 million people. This has left Nigeria dependent on imported refined products to meet local requirements.
The government has budgeted about N4trn for petrol subsidy for 2022, but this has hardly solved the problem for the average Nigerian, who is faced with irregular supply of the product, with recurring shortages and attended high prices.
It has also led to a boom in illegal refining activities in the areas close to the oil-producing region in the south. The area where the explosion occurred is in the oil-producing area of Imo State, which is also the hotbed of the fight for the independence of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
Eye witness say they have counted up to 50 dead bodies at the site burnt beyond recognition.
Imo State Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, Goodluck Opiah, announced that the government had declared the owner of the illegal refinery, Okenze Onyenwoke, wanted.
“The Imo State Government has declared wanted, Okenze Onyenwoke, who owns this illegal refinery. I advise him to hand himself over to the police or any security agency,” said Opiah, an indigene of Egbema.
“This is wickedness. This is economic sabotage. It is also destroying our youths. I, therefore, call on the youths to go away from this kind of illegal business. There are so many legitimate businesses one could do to make genuine money.”
