Tobias Sylvester
President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the victims of an explosion that rocked an illegal oil refining site in Ohaji/Egbema area of Imo state.
Buhari Reacts To Explosion At Illegal Refineries In Imo
KanyiDaily had reported how Over 100 people were burnt to death on Saturday after an illegal refinery caught fire at Abaezi community in the Ohaji-Egbema area.
In a statement on Sunday by his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, President Buhari described the incident as a “catastrophe and a national disaster.
He 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, Buhari 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 Police Command has declared the owner of the illegal refinery Okenze Onyewoke wanted.
This comes a few days after three persons were killed, while several others sustained injuries in an explosion that occurred in Iware community of Taraba state.
