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Tag: Illegal Refineries

Imo Tragedy: Buhari Mourns Victims, Orders Clampdown On Illegal Refineries
President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the victims of an explosion that rocked an illegal refinery in Imo State and also ordered an intensified clampdown on illegal refining sites across the country.
About 100 people were killed on Friday after a fire engulfed an illegal crude oil refining site in the Abaezi forest, in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State.
Two days after the tragic incident, President Buhari described the explosion as a “catastrophe and a national disaster.”
In a statement issued on Sunday by his media aide, Garba Shehu, the Commander-in-Chief said the responsibility for the loss of lives and property must squarely lie with the sponsors of the illegal refinery, “who must all be caught and made to face justice”.
The President conveyed “the condolences and the full depth and range of the nation’s shock and trauma” to the families of the victims, the Ohaji Egbema community, and the government and people of Imo State.
To forestall a reoccurrence of the incident, the President ordered the armed forces, security, and intelligence agencies to intensify the clampdown on illegal refineries.
This is even as he urged community leaders, the police, and the secret service to never allow the occurrence of the heart-breaking incident in any part of the country again.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has commiserated with the families of affected victims.
He, however, explained that running an illegal refinery in the area amounted to economic sabotage to the state and the nation and a criminal act that all should desist from.
The governor warned those still in the business of running illegal refineries in the state to stop forthwith or face the wrath of the law.
Illegal refineries have remained a menace, posing an environmental and economic threat to the nation and resulting in condemnation and crackdowns by the government – especially in the South-South.
Earlier this month, amid reports of widespread crude oil theft and the environmental impact of illegal refineries – evident in the soot problem in Rivers State, the Nigerian Navy launched an operation to combat the threat.
April 24, 2022
Apply caution in waging war against illegal refineries, ex-IYC boss tells Wike
Amgbare Ekaunkumo, Yenagoa
A former President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, has appealed to the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, to tread with caution in his ongoing war against illegal refineries and bunkering.
Eradiri, a two-time Commissioner in Bayelsa State, said adopting brute force to stop illegal refineries, blamed for the soot in Rivers, could only worsen the situation instead of addressing the problem.
While commending Wike for his bold steps, Eradiri urged him to adopt a strategic broader stakeholders engagement in dealing with the menace to avoid creating another cycle of arm struggle in the region.
He insisted that if the situation were not effectively and cautiously managed, myriads of youths, who were already engaged in the illegal business activities for survival, would be forced to acquire arms and fight back.
Eradiri, who spoke in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Tuesday, recalled that the banditry in Zamfara State started when authorities adopted a wrong approach to dislodge hungry youths from gold mining sites.
He said the problem later came under control when reasons prevailed and authorities decided to set up a committee to harmonise gold mining licenses for the locals.
He insisted that the same approach adopted by the Federal Government in Zamfara to give the locals an opportunity to benefit from their natural resources should be extended to the people of the region.
Eradiri said economic exclusion, hunger, unemployment, high cost of petroleum products, the supply-demand gap of products caused by dysfunctional government-owned refineries and hopelessness were factors fueling establishment of illegal refineries.
He urged Wike to work with the Federal Government to tackle the problem adding that the government had already set up a committee headed by Senator Eta Enang to harmonise the issues in the region.
He said: “The Governor of Rivers State,has demonstrated courage in declaring this war against illegal bunkering and crude cooking of crude oil to protect the people he had sworn to govern.
“I, however, appeal to him to exercise caution because the problem has grown beyond imagination following the myriads of youths involved in it. It has now become a cartel and it requires strategic engagement to dismantle it without creating another cycle of violence in the region.
“I appeal to the governor to work with the Federal Government because the government had already set up a committee headed by Senator Eta Enang to harmonise the issues in the region”.
January 25, 2022
Illegal Refineries: Wike Announces N2m Reward For LG Chairmen
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has announced a two million naira reward for Council Chairmen in the state who are able to identify illegal refinery sites in their localities.
Governor Wike who issued the ultimatum during a meeting with heads of security and Local Government Chairmen in Port Harcourt on Friday said the crime of operating an illegal refinery is worse than the activities of the Boko Haram terrorist.
He, therefore, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the council chairmen in all 23 local government areas of the state to identify the illegal refineries or risk losing their post.
According to the governor, the cash reward of two million naira would also be issued for every site discovered by a chairman.
Meanwhile, Governor Wike accused security personnel including members of the Nigeria Army, the Navy, the Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) of providing escort services for the operators of the illegal refineries.
He demanded the immediate deployment of an officer of the NSCDC in charge of the Anti-Pipeline Vandalism Unit in the state for allegedly aiding the crime.
The meeting was held one day after Governor Wike, accompanied by the Commissioner of Police, Eboka Friday inspected two illegal refinery sites in Ikwerre and Emohua Local Government Areas.
According to the governor, it has become necessary to prosecute those involved in illegal refining in order to contain the menace of soot pollution which has continued to endanger public health in the state.
January 15, 2022