THE OMOKU TRAGEDY  

The authorities should do more to stop the menace

Intense campaigns against the danger of illegal oil bunkering do not seem to be yielding fruits. Last October, more than two dozen people were killed following a devastating explosion at an illegal refining site at Iba in Emohua local government area of Rivers State. The dangerous crime persisted last week as no fewer than 25 persons lost their lives following an explosion from an illegal oil tapping point in Omoku in Ogba/Egebema/Ndoni local government area, also in Rivers State.   

According to reports, some youths allegedly punctured an ageing pipeline belonging to one of the oil firms operating in the area. The attempt by some impoverished persons to scoop fuel with the aid of plastic buckets resulted in an explosion which consumed many while many others suffered varying degrees of burns. Even with the danger they pose, illegal oil bunkering is thriving in Rivers as in other states in the Niger Delta.

Illegal refining is common in the Niger Delta and other oil producing states as locals break pipelines, extract crude oil and process to make low quality fuel for sale. Many of the unemployed and frustrated youths are, more or less, through these measures, turning their anger on the oil companies and indeed the country to extract their share of the national cake in risky actions bordering on criminality.  Some of the deadly explosions result from illegal artisanal oil refining, locally called “kpofire.” For instance, within a week last July, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC Ltd) reportedly recorded 240 incidents of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta. Indeed, several reports estimate that more than 200,000 barrels of crude oil are stolen every day from the Niger Delta, with vast volumes of this ending up in illegal refining facilities across creeks in the region. These are costly activities that a nation ignores at its own peril.  

 The frequent blowout of crude oil facilities in the Niger Delta is a grave threat to the nation’s economy, marine ecosystem and the defenseless villagers on the coastline who depend on the sea and its feeder rivers for their livelihood. Indeed, apart from the economic challenges of crude oil theft, the environmental degradation associated with illegal oil refineries require urgent attention. Spills pollute the waters and air, kill plants, animals, destroy habitats and generally affect the quality of the creeks and oceans. The hazardous illegal refining process has led to many fatal accidents, in addition to worsening a polluted region blighted by oil spills. There is still a growing anxiety in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, over the presence of black soot, resulting in poor air quality, and some medical conditions associated with breathing difficulty, according to reports.   

The soot is largely linked to the activities of illegal oil refineries, and bunkers. Indeed, in 2018, the Federal Ministry of Environment confirmed the problem of soot enveloping the city and environs to the operation of illegal oil refineries and their destruction. “There is a direct correlation between the level, intensity and composition of the soot and illegal oil refinery activities, including their destruction in the Niger Delta,” the ministry said.  

It is the federal government’s statutory responsibility to stop illegal bunkering and refining of crude oil in the country. But the vast expanse of the nation’s maritime domain makes it expedient for critical stakeholders to emplace more robust collaborative engagements to surmount crude oil theft, illegal oil refining and other related challenges. This latest explosion and attendant human and environmental losses should be treated with urgent and appropriate seriousness.  It is unacceptable that previous tragedies were handled with laxity. This is one too many. There should be an end to many of these avoidable tragedies.