From Our Correspondent
No fewer than five vandals died in an explosion that rocked the Obitti Community, on Tuesday, in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area (LGA) of Imo State.
An anonymous source told newsmen that the vandals had stormed the Obitti Rubber Estate with an articulated vehicle and dug through to 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 knew, and from what I saw, many people died. Many others, who narrowly escaped the explosion, sustained serious injuries.
“The fire that raged for hours burnt the tanker and also destroyed our farm produce worth millions of naira,” the source said.
ASP Henry Okoye, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state confirmed the death, on Wednesday, in Owerri.
Okoye said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Aboki Danjuma, had set up a team to unravel the immediate cause of the incident and arrest fleeing culprits.
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“Yes, the incident happened yesterday (Tuesday).
“Five vandals were burnt beyond recognition. We are currently investigating the incident in collaboration with our sister security agencies.
“They went for their normal pipeline vandalism when the incident occurred.
“Our goal is to ensure that similar vandalism does not occur in the future,” the PPRO said.
Recall that in April 2022, no fewer than 100 people died in a similar explosion that occurred at an illegal oil refining site in the Ohaji/Egbema area of the state.
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