Pipeline explosion kills 5 suspected vandals in Imo

An explosion on Tuesday killed five suspected oil pipeline vandals in the Obitti community of Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State.

An eyewitness told journalists on Wednesday that the vandals stormed the Obitti Rubber Estate in the area with an articulated vehicle and dug an oil pipeline that passed through the area.

“They dug a hole in the pipeline and connected their long pipe to their tanker to steal oil.

“I cannot say exactly what caused the explosion but I know and from what I saw, that many people died, and many others, who narrowly escaped the explosion, sustained various degrees of injuries.

“The fire that raged for hours burnt the tanker and also affected our farm produce worth millions of naira,” he stated.

READ ALSO: NSCDC arrests two suspected pipeline vandals in Imo

The spokesman for the state police command, Henry Okoye, confirmed the incident in Owerri.

He said the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aboki Danjuma, had already set up a team to unravel the immediate cause of the incident and arrest fleeing culprits.

Okoye said: “Yes, the incident happened yesterday (Tuesday).

“Five vandals were burnt beyond recognition and we are currently investigating it in collaboration with our sister security agencies to unravel the identities of those behind the economic sabotage.

“They went for their normal pipeline vandalism when the incident occurred.

“Our goal is to make sure that similar vandalism does not occur in the future.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now