By our reporter| President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday ordered an intensified clampdown on illegal refining sites across the country following the death of about 100 victims of an explosion that rocked an illegal refinery in Imo State on Friday.
The unfortunate incident occurred after a fire engulfed an illegal crude oil refining site in the Abaezi forest, in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area.
President Buhari described the explosion as a “catastrophe and a national disaster.”
According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, the Commander-in-Chief 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, the President 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.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has also commiserated with the families of affected victims.
He, however, explained that running an illegal refinery in the area amounted to economic sabotage to the state and the nation and a criminal act that all should desist from.
The governor warned those still in the business of running illegal refineries in the state to stop forthwith or face the wrath of the law.
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