At least 37 persons have reportedly died after inhaling toxic fumes during an alleged illegal petroleum-loading operation at Okari Jetty in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The incident occurred around midnight on Thursday, September 3, when youths from Okrika and neighbouring communities reportedly gathered at the jetty to load petroleum products from an illegally tapped point.
According to community sources and the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), more than 100 people were at the location when the incident occurred.
The victims were reportedly overwhelmed by fumes from the petroleum product during the loading operation, with several collapsing into the river while others who escaped suffered respiratory complications and were taken for treatment.
YEAC-Nigeria Executive Director, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene, said the organisation’s network of youth volunteers and human rights defenders in the Niger Delta reported no fewer than 37 deaths.
He said the victims inhaled what is locally referred to as “Indorama Fuel” during the illegal loading operation.
Dumnamene alleged that the victims had connected a pipe to an illegally tapped point on a pipeline transporting petroleum products from the Indorama Eleme Petrochemical facility through the Port Harcourt Refinery to vessels that reportedly arrive to load products for export.
He said the product was being pumped at high pressure while the suspected illegal operators simultaneously loaded it into their boats, exposing them to the fumes.
Some corpses were reportedly seen floating on the river, while several others remained missing.
Dumnamene called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to conduct an immediate Joint Investigation Visit to the site and urged the company whose facility was allegedly vandalised to strengthen security around its pipelines.
The Rivers State Police Command confirmed the incident, saying the victims reportedly died while attempting to steal crude oil.
Police spokesperson, ASP Blessing Agabe, however, said no official complaint had been received and that an investigation was ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths and ascertain the facts.
The reported death toll has varied across accounts, with some reports putting the figure at 43. However, YEAC-Nigeria and other reports have cited 37 deaths, while the police have yet to announce an official casualty figure.
The Okrika tragedy comes against the backdrop of renewed military operations against crude oil theft and illegal refining in the Niger Delta.
Just days before the incident, the Nigerian Navy announced that it had uncovered three suspected illegal refining sites and six reservoirs containing approximately 99,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude oil and illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) in Rivers and Delta states.
The discoveries were made during separate operations conducted on August 31 by Nigerian Navy Ships SOROH and DELTA following intelligence on suspected illegal petroleum activities.
The Navy said its personnel also discovered a large refining oven, storage facilities and dugout reservoirs used in the illicit petroleum trade.
The operations, according to the Navy, were aimed at disrupting the infrastructure supporting crude oil theft and illegal refining in the region.
The proximity of the Navy’s latest discoveries to the Okrika tragedy underscores the continuing scale of illegal petroleum activities in the Niger Delta, despite sustained security operations targeting the networks and infrastructure behind crude theft.
While security agencies continue to dismantle illegal refining sites and seize stolen petroleum products, the Okrika incident also highlights the human cost of the illicit trade, with residents continuing to risk their lives at illegal tapping points.
The tragedy has therefore renewed calls for a combination of stronger protection of oil infrastructure, enforcement against oil theft and alternative economic opportunities for communities where illegal petroleum activities have become a source of livelihood.
The exact number of people who died or remain missing in the Okrika incident is expected to become clearer as the police investigation and recovery efforts continue.