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12 persons burnt to death in Rivers oil explosion

Published

1 year ago

March 3, 2023

Twelve persons have died in an explosion that rocked a crude oil tapping point in Rumuekpe community of the Emuoha Local Government Area of the Rivers State.

Many of the victims were burnt beyond recognition just as vehicles and tricycles were destroyed during the incident in which people were said to be scooping crude oil.

The state police command confirming the incident in a statement on Friday, through its spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, said preliminary investigation indicated that the victims were scooping crude oil when the site caught fire.

The tapping point is said to be on the Trans-Niger Delta Pipeline (TNP) that passed through the community.

“So far about 12 persons are believed to have bee burnt to death. The identities of the victims are still unknown,” she stated.

Iringe-Koko also said five vehicles and four tricycles were burnt to ashes at the explosion site.

Fyneface Dumnamene, environmentalist and executive director Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, also confirmed the incident in a statement seen by TheCable on Friday.

He said the explosion occurred at around 2am on Friday, when one of the buses carrying crude oil to another location for artisanal refining kickstarted its ignition system.

Dumnamene said the report of the incident was obtained through the centre’s crude oil spill alert system (COSAS) and members of its “one million youth volunteers network of human rights defenders and promoters in the Niger Delta” in the community.

The environmentalist added that the incident left dozens, including women, dead and burnt beyond recognition.

He also said many vehicles and tricycles were burnt to ashes.

“All those who were at the exact tapping point in the “pit” got killed while some of those who had loaded the crude and waiting to load including women have been killed by the explosion,” Dumnamene said.

“Advocacy centre can confirm from the eyewitness information and other sources that confirmed the incident at the community that men of the Nigeria arm area (sic) already at the scene of the incident with the police said to be on the way to the scene making it difficult for photographs and videos to be taken.”

Related Topics:Explosion Featured Rivers

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Rainstorms kill seven, many others injured

Published

8 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Rainstorms kill seven, many others injured

No fewer than seven people have been confirmed dead as rainstorms affect Houston, Texas, authorities announced Friday.

The three new deaths occurred after Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States, was slammed Thursday by severe rain and winds gusting up to 100 miles (160 kilometres) per hour, leaving downtown streets coated in glass from broken windows.

Residential areas were littered with downed trees and power wires, and the National Weather Service reported that a tornado had touched down in Cypress.

Rainstorms kill seven, many others injured

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Police inspector dismissed, three others demoted over N29.8m theft

Published

8 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Force Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Olumuyiwa Adejobi

Police inspector dismissed, three others demoted over N29.8m theft

Adabo Mohammed, a police inspector has been dismissed over alleged involvement in robbery and kidnapping in the federal capital territory (FCT).

Announcing this on Friday, May 17, the Nigeria Police Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi said Mohammed and five others were members of an armed robbery gang allegedly responsible for the stealing of N29.8 million from a victim during a robbery operation in the Gwagwalada area of Abuja.

The dismissed officer was also part of a gang that kidnapped one Ikechukwu Emmanuel Okafor, in the Tunga Maje area of Abuja and collected N4.4 million in ransom. He further revealed that Mohammed has been charged to court.

Police inspector dismissed, three others demoted over N29.8m theft

metro

Breaking: Women protest against return of armed Okuama youths (+ Photos)

Published

8 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Breaking: Women protest against return of armed Okuama youths (+ Photos)

The women of Okoloba community in Bomadi local government area, weekend, protested against what they called the return of armed youths of Okuama in Ughelli South local government area, who they alleged were threatening the peace of the riverine area.

The placard carrying women, led by the chairlady of Okoloba community, Mrs Timipakebi Goodwin, and secretary, Mrs Mary Koibi, staged a peace protest on black attires along the coastal fringe of Okoloba community, chanting against violence and bloodbath, as well as sending an S.O.S. to the federal government to come to their aid.

Some inscriptions on the placards read: ‘We say No to violence’, ‘Enough of the killings on our land’, ‘Armed Okuama youths returning in a commando style’, ‘We say No to the return of armed youths of Okuama’, ‘Resettle Okuama people among their Ewu brothers in Ughelli South LGA’, ‘We mourn the killing of the 17 soldiers’ and among others.

The chairlady of Okoloba, Mrs Goodwin, speaking to newsmen with a written address that was made available to security apparatuses, which include the police, DSS, NSCDC, JTF as well as the acting chairman of Bomadi local government council, noted that the latest killing by the youths of Okuama showed that they could kill human beings at the slightest provocation.

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The women’s presentations as well as the written address read in part: “First, we the women of Okoloba community sympathize with the killing of 17 soldiers and officers of the Nigerian army on a peace and rescue mission to Okuama, following the kidnap of our son. We sincerely mourn their untimely death and pray for the repose of their souls. We also pray for their families.

“However, less than 24 hours after the exit of the troops from Okuama, fresh crisis erupted with another neighbouring community, culminating in the killing of one person while three other persons were seriously injured. The person who was killed and those sustaining machete wounds were alleged to have gone there to loot.

“The latest killing showed that the people of Okuama can kill a human at the slightest provocation; the sanctity of human life means nothing to them. It also shows that neighbouring Ijaw communities like Okoloba are not safe.

“So, resetting the people of Okuama in their present location, which is in-between communities in Bomadi local government area, is an attempt to encourage further communal clashes and bloodbath.

“Just last week, youths of Okuama community came out of the Mein-toruabubor creek, which leads to Ewu, on three speedboats and all of them on camouflage. They shot sporadically in the air before proceeding to OKuama. They moved to and fro the creek three times, and at every time they shot their guns in the air at the entrance of the creek.

“We are calling on the federal government to come to our aid, and the panacea to these incessant clashes and killings is for the government to relocate Okuama to Ewu clan in Ughelli South Local Government Area, where they truly and rightly belong.