The recent explosion at an illegal refinery in Rivers State claimed no fewer than 37 lives and left scores of others wounded. The unfortunate incident occurred in Ibaa community in Emohua Local Government area of the oil-rich state. This is perhaps the second time this year that such a tragedy would occur in the same area in Rivers State. It shows clearly that the government has not really addressed the drivers of the illegal venture. It has also failed to rein in the perpetrators of the heinous economic crime.
According to reports, the latest incident occurred when hundreds of people, mainly youths from the community, were scooping petroleum products from the oil pipeline despite repeated warnings from leaders of the community against the harmful act. Those at the scene of the incident believe that casualty figure might be higher than the official figure.
The incident happened at a tap head of the Trans-Niger Delta pipeline reportedly owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company. Many vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles were also burnt in the blast. The Rivers State Police Command revealed that the preliminary investigation indicated that the victims were scooping crude oil products when the site caught fire. The latest incident brings to about 70 the number of people who have lost their lives since 2021 in Rumukpe community as a result of illegal oil bunkering.
For instance, in October 2021, 20 people reportedly died as a result of oil bunkering. Also, in April 2022, over 150 persons were reportedly roasted in a pipeline explosion at Abizi in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government area of Imo State. Also in May 2022, scores of people perished in explosion at an illegal refinery in Uzuaku community of Abia State. Not less than 100 persons were killed in a similar incident in Abaezi/Abacheke forest in Imo State.
The government must rise to the challenge of oil bunkering and illegal refinery. The measures taken so far to curb the rising criminality have not worked. Let the government come up with new approaches to addressing the menace. There is no doubt that the lethal and lucrative trade is driven by grinding poverty and unemployment. It is also driven by greed and the craze to get rich quick. With the erosion of cultural mores and values, the worship of wealth, no matter how acquired has become the order of the day. The economic situation in the country is not helpful as millions of Nigerians daily struggle to live in the midst of rising prices of food items and extreme poverty.
However, we condemn the scooping of petroleum products from broken oil pipelines or resorting to illegal refining of crude oil. The government should deploy adequate security around oil facilities in the Niger Delta region where illegal oil refining has been turned into a lucrative business, at the detriment of the economy. Nigeria reportedly lost about $3.2billion worth of crude oil between January and February 2020.
Also, figures from the office of the National Security Adviser and Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) revealed that the country loses about 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily as a result of illegal oil bunkering. This has adversely affected the funds needed to address the challenges in education, health and transportation. It is unfortunate that despite efforts by the government to eliminate the scourge, oil theft and illegal refining have been on the increase in the Niger Delta region. The booming business will continue until the federal government is willing to address it.
Oil theft has increased the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta ecology. Its continuation will not only ruin the environment, it will also ruin the people. Therefore, oil theft is a human tragedy that should be prevented.
Government and oil companies should provide the much-needed social amenities in the oil-bearing communities. Those living in the oil-producing communities must be made to feel the impact of oil discovery in their areas. Community leaders in the oil bearing areas should be taken into confidence in providing intelligent reports on oil theft and illegal refineries. There is also need for adequate policing of oil pipelines.
We call for the establishment of many modular refineries. Having them will discourage illegal refining of petroleum products. The youths in the oil-producing communities must be involved in the security of oil pipelines. The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ministry of Niger Delta should work together to address the challenges of oil-bearing communities.
We believe that providing the youths in the region with requisite skills to do business and create jobs has become necessary. The governors of Niger Delta region, especially the nine oil-producing states should use the money from derivation to develop the oil-bearing communities. It is sad that most times these areas are grossly neglected.