Imo explosion: Buhari orders clampdown on illegal refineries

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), Sunday in Abuja, described the death of tens of Nigerians on Friday night in the explosion of an illegal refinery in Imo State as a “catastrophe and a national disaster.”

He consequently directed the nation’s armed forces, security, and intelligence agencies to intensify the clampdown on illegal refineries.

No fewer than 100 people were killed on Friday night at around 08:00 pm after an illegal refinery caught fire at Abaezi community in the Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State. Also, six vehicles were razed during the incident which threw the community into mourning.

According to a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari reacted to the incident by saying 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.”

In the statement titled “Imo ‘Refinery’ deaths, a national disaster” 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.

He, therefore, 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.