Blast At Illegal Oil Refinery In Nigeria Kills 37 People

A blast at an illegal oil refinery in southern Nigeria has killed at least 37 people including two pregnant women.

The incident took place in Rivers State's Emohua district on Monday after a homemade refinery exploded into flames, leading to the severe burning of dozens of victims.

Thirty-five people were engulfed by flames while two managed to escape, Rufus Welekem, head of security in the community, said, as per Reuters. However, these two individuals died in the hospital on Tuesday morning.

An earlier report about the incident said the fire outbreak began "at a very late hour." Citing Olufemi Ayodele, spokesperson for the local Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, the report added that 18 victims were burned "beyond recognition" while 25 people with injuries were rescued.

"Most of the victims were youths — a pregnant woman and a young lady getting ready for her marriage ceremony next month were all casualties," Ayodele reportedly said.

Nigeria, which is a major crude oil producer in Africa, has been struggling with issues concerning Illegal oil refineries for several years now, as many local communities and criminal organizations in the oil-rich Niger Delta region continue to extract and refine crude oil illegally.

Last month, for instance, eight vessels with 100,000 liters of illegally refined automotive gas oil (AGO), also known as diesel, were seized during Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) conducted by the Military Joint Task Force in Rivers State.

Oil theft is also rampant in the country. In August, Major General Edward Buba, director of Defense Media Operations, said the military recovered 1,166,900 liters of stolen crude oil, 1,491,250 liters of illegally refined automated gas oil, 54,750 liters of dual-purpose kerosine and 800 liters of premium motor spirit from the Niger Delta area.

In connection with the alarming prevalence of oil theft in Nigeria, Sen. Saidu Alkali, the country's transport minister, asked the Kaduna-Kano rail line contractors last month to check the construction material to ensure that there was no vandalization. He also told the contractors to use anti-theft clips instead of regular metal clips in attaching the rail track.

Aside from oil theft and illegal refineries, Nigeria is also dealing with hiked fuel prices after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy. This move led to an increase in the prices of cab services like Uber.