How 43 ‘oil thieves’ choked to death in Okrika jetty disaster – Official

Tragedy struck in the early hours of Thursday when about 43 youths suspected to be oil thieves from Okrika and neighbouring communities in Rivers state, were chocked to death following a failed attempt to siphon product from an illegally tapped point connected to a pipeline.

The incident happened at Okari Jetty in the Okrika Mainland area of Okrika local government area of the state.

Multiple accounts claimed the youth, numbering about 200, reportedly arrived the jetty in locally made boats, died after they were suffocated by the toxic odour of the petroleum products, at a time a vessel was docked at the jetty loading petroleum products for export.

The incident, Blueprint gathered, occurred around 12.00 am, following which the affected communities were thrown into mourning mood.

Our findings revealed that the pipeline usually conveys petroleum products from Indorama Eleme Petrochemical through the Port Harcourt Refinery to vessels that berth every two weeks for loading of the products to be exported.

Sources said as the vessel was being loaded, the youths in their hundreds, were also scooping from the illegal tap, during which they got suffocated by the odour of the product which uncontrollably filled the air.

Consequently, “the fuel-scooping youth inhaled the fumes at high pressure, collapsed on the spot, with some staggering and falling into the river. As a matter of fact, those who were lucky to escape were immediately rushed to nearby hospitals for possible rescue from respiratory complications,” said a source.

“At least, 37 bodies have been identified as indigenes of Okrika, while six others are yet to be unidentified. Several others are still missing as the river is propping up bodies that are yet to be recovered,” said multiple community sources.

Civilian JTF

Speaking on the development, Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Okrika local government area, Igwe Godswill, confirmed that majority of the victims were youths in search of their means of livelihood.

 “It is so pathetic that this incident is happening in our community. These are young guys who have gone to search for their daily bread, only for the fumes from the fuel that was pumped to kill so many of our youths under the bridge.

“Many of them were choked to death. These are not criminals or anything, but they went out in search of their daily meal. I am advising the community, the leaders and every other person that we need legitimate jobs in the community.

“These things are risky, but when you cannot feed your children, most times, those risky jobs become the only option,” Godswill said.

The Civilian JTF boss also confirmed that the victims were scooping the floating petroleum products when the foul odour from a vessel loading petroleum products at the jetty took over the environment.

He said: “We saw about 10 of them. Four were still unrecognisable, while four persons were identified. The rest could not be identified because their bodies were badly damaged and their faces were severely affected.”

Making a case for more jobs for the youths, he said: “I am calling on the relevant authorities, community leaders, the chairman and every other person to look into this. It is not enough to stop them because, yes, it is a risky job, but they should create jobs for the youths so that everybody will have something to eat.

“Something that can put food on the tables of these young men – the youths and every other person. I can tell you for free that it will not just stop because when that source is the only livelihood, people will still go there.

“Even as of yesterday, people still went there, despite the fact that we had confirmed that people had died from the same activity. So, we are calling on the leaders to look into it and see how they can create job opportunities, especially for the youths.”

Police, YEAC-Nigeria confirm incident

Similarly, the Rivers state Police Command, through its spokesperson, ASP Agabe Blessing Karbolo, confirmed the incident to journalists, even as she said the command had yet to receive any official complaint.

The command, according to her, was investigating the incident with a view to ascertaining the casualty figures as well as the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of the deceased person.

In a similar confirmation, the Executive Director Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, confirmed the development, saying about 37 persons died after inhaling the product during the illegal loading.

While calling on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to conduct a joint investigation of the incident, they called on oil companies to tighten security around pipelines to prevent a recurrence.

In a graphic description of the incident, the YEAC-Nigeria said the victims had connected a pipe to a tapping point on a pipeline allegedly transporting products from Indorama-Eleme Petrochemicals through the Port Harcourt Refinery to vessels that regularly come to load for export.

According to him, the men were simultaneously loading the product into their waiting boats while a vessel was loading, during which they inhaled the product being pumped at high pressure.

“This led to the death of not fewer than 37 persons. Many are still missing, and some corpses have been seen floating on the river but have not yet been recovered,” Fyneface said.

While condemning the alleged sabotage, he warned youths against tampering with oil and gas infrastructure because of the dangers associated with high-pressure petroleum products.

The group also urged the government to provide alternative livelihood opportunities for artisanal refiners and the proposed Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) in the Niger Delta, including through the establishment of modular refineries and the legalisation of artisanal refining.