In a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Sunday, Mr Buhari described the incident as “a catastrophe and a national disaster.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Nigeria’s security agencies to intensify the clampdown on illegal refineries in the country.
The directive follows the explosion that rocked an illegal refinery, Friday night, at Abaezi forest in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that scores of people were killed and several other persons injured in the incident.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Sunday, Mr Buhari described the incident as “a catastrophe and a national disaster.”
The president emphasised that security agencies have been directed to intensify clampdown on illegal refineries.
He said the responsibility for the loss of lives and property “must squarely lie with the sponsors” of the illegal refinery, assuring that they “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 families of the victims, the community and the people of the state.
Mr Buhari urged community leaders and the personnel of the Nigerian Police Force to take steps to ensure that such “heartbreaking incident” is not allowed to occur again in any part of the country.
Illegal crude oil refining has become a lucrative business, mainly among residents of oil producing states, despite its dangerous consequences.
Over 100 persons were burnt beyond recognition during the Friday explosion.
The incident came months after scores were reportedly killed in an oil explosion at another illegal refinery in Rivers State in October.
Oil theft, known as “bunkering” in local parlance, has been a source of concern to many stakeholders across the country.
The Nigerian government is reported to be losing an estimated $4 billion yearly due to oil theft activities.
In Rivers State, air pollution, especially the soot in Port Harcourt, the state capital, and its environs, has been attributed to the operation of illegal oil refineries.
PREMIUM TIMES
