The explosion from an illegal crude oil refinery located in Abaezi Forest, Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area, on the border between Imo and Rivers states on April 24 brings to the fore once again the gross danger that illegal oil refining, also known as bunkering, constitutes to the safety of lives and property, the security and stability of the environment and the buoyancy of the economy. That over 100 persons, mostly youths, reportedly died in the tragedy, with several vehicles and other properties destroyed indicates that this was an extensive and thriving enterprise, which could not have operated without the knowledge of requisite government authorities, security agencies as well as community leaders and traditional rulers. Indeed, some of the vehicles destroyed in the explosion were said to be on a queue to purchase illegal fuel, which means that the vicinity of the criminal business is well known to and patronised by members of the public.

This is why it was rather hypocritical of the Imo State government to have declared the alleged owner of the illegal refinery, one Okenze Onyewonke, wanted only after disaster had struck, lives lost and property destroyed. Had the Imo State government been on top of the situation and not complacent, this illegal refinery operating on such a large scale should have been detected long before now, its operators made to face the law and the business shut down. This is particularly so as top operators of over 150 illegal oil refineries between the forests of Abaezi and Abacheke communities in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area were said to have abandoned their sites and fled, following the explosion and the declaration of Onyewonke wanted. Could this number of illegal refineries have been operating without the authorities at various levels – local government, state and federal – blissfully unaware of their existence? That would be strange.

The Imo State Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, Mr Goodluck Opia, during a visit to the disaster site described the incident as unfortunate and lamented that most of those engaged in oil bunkering in the state were from Rivers, Bayelsa and other neighbouring states. But how long had the Imo State authorities known this and what steps did they take to tackle the problem? To its credit, the Rivers State government had earlier in the year launched a clampdown on illegal refineries within its territory, although this was a move that ought to have begun years before, given the disastrous implications of illegal oil refining on the environment, the livelihood as well as health of large numbers of residents. Indeed, the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area in Rivers State, Mr Samuel Nwanksike, had said in January that 128 of 142 illegal refineries identified in the state had been destroyed.

It is believed that the clampdown on illegal oil refining in Rivers pushed the criminal operators to the border areas where the latest explosion in Imo State occurred. This indicates that all states in the Niger Delta, where the oil bunkering business thrives with large numbers of illegal refineries, must fight this criminal activity individually in their respective states and in concert in their adjoining borders. There is no way that such a battle against this menace can be successfully waged without the cooperation and support of the Federal Government, which has operational control of the security agencies.

In his reaction to the tragedy, President Muhammadu Buhari described it as a “catastrophe” and a “national disaster” while directing the security agencies to intensify the clampdown on illegal refineries in the country. We do not believe that a presidential directive is necessary for the security and intelligence outfits to perform what should be their routine duties.

What the President should urgently advert his administration to is the widespread belief and the allegation frequently made that the security agencies deployed to protect oil pipelines, among other responsibilities in the Niger Delta, are themselves complicit in actively participating in and profiting immensely from the oil bunkering business. This is in addition to local government and state officials as well as traditional rulers and community leaders who reportedly collaborate with operators of illegal oil refineries in what has become an elaborate business in which all participants reap considerable financial gain to the detriment of the public good.

Leaders of government at all levels must tackle this problem as a national emergency, given the humongous amount of crude oil stolen daily and largely processed in these illegal refineries, resulting in losses estimated at over $4 billion yearly to the Nigerian economy.

Each time these explosions occur in the illegal refineries, it results in large scale deaths with bodies of victims charred beyond recognition. That large numbers of people continue to risk their lives to participate in this criminal activity despite knowing the attendant dangers is a function of the level of poverty and unemployment, particularly in the Niger Delta, a situation that must be addressed fundamentally and decisively by government.

Update news