From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
No fewer than five persons suspected to be oil vandals have been confirmed dead following an explosion that rocked the Obiti Community in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo state.
The incident which has been investigated by the Imo state Police Command happened on Tuesday involving pipeline vandals in the area.
Imo State Police Publlic Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Henry Okoye,who confirmed the ugly incident, said that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Aboki Dunjuma, had already set up an investigative team to unravel the immediate cause of the incident as well as arrest fleeing culprits.
He said,”it happened on Tuesday and about five persons lost their lives in the explosion. They were burnt beyond recognition and we are currently investigating it in collaboration with other sister security agencies to unravel the identities of those behind the economic sabotage.
“The deceased went for their usual illegal pipeline siphoning of refined crude oil when the incident occurred.Our goal is to make sure similar incidents do not occur in future,” he submitted.
However, sources from the community disclosed to Our Correspondent that the vandals had stormed the Obitti rubber estate in the area with an articulated vehicle , and had dug through to an oil pipeline passing through the area.
The source further disclosed that the oil thieves had connected a long pipe to their Tanker and started pumping.
He said: “I cannot say exactly what caused the explosion, but I know and from what I saw, many people died, and many others, who narrowly escaped the inferno, sustained various degrees of injuries.
“The fire that raged for hours, burnt the tanker and also affected our farmlands, destroying our produce worth millions of Naira,” the source said.
In April 2022, not less than 200 persons lost their lives following the explosion of an illegal oil refinery at Abacheke in Egbema in Ohaji / Egbema council area of the state.
Similarly , on May 4, 2022 ,two persons also died when a bomb exploded at an oil facility, Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Ltd. located at Izombe area of Oguta LGA of Imo state.