About 20 people don injure and over 50 houses don burn down following explosion of gas pipeline for Aleto community, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Di incident wey happen on Thursday occur around 5pm and e come from alleged ruptured pipeline wey belong to Nigeria Gas Company along Old Bori Road for Aleto.
A source, wey be resident for di area, narrate say di pipeline don cause injuries and damage properties. Di source, wey give im name as Emmanuel, say di pipeline dey leak for about three weeks before di explosion today.
Emmanuel say some leaders of di area notify di company about di leak but di company no respond positively.
Leader of di Eleme Legislative Council, Daniel Chuma, say he write to di company about di leak and follow up with petition to relevant authorities but nothing concrete dem do to stop di gas leak.
Chuma, wey visit di scene of di explosion, say there was leakage on another section of di Nigeria Gas Company. He say dem write to di company, and dem do petition to NOSDRA and Rivers State Ministry of Environment and copy di Police for urgent intervention.
He say dem ask for joint investigation. He say dem no know wetin dem do before dem leave. He say today dem call dem to explosion at di same pipeline of di Nigeria Gas Company wey don destroy over 50 houses, cars, and many casualties. He say dem don rush people go hospital.
He say before now, everyone scamper for safety. He say di few wey come, dem ask dem to stay far away to avoid any further incident.
Meanwhile, Executive Director of di Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene, for statement, confirm di development.
Fyneface say dem dey use dis medium to call on relevant authorities, Rivers State government, Ministry of Environment, NOSDRA, Rivers State, Federal Government, and all di bodies involved in checking oil spill and explosion to come to di aid of Aleto people. He say dis na serious incident.
He say as of di time of dis statement, YEAC-Nigeria never independently confirm any fatalities.
He say members of di Advocacy Centre volunteers wey visit di scene for independent verification confirm say officials of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps dey ground. He say cause of di incident never still independently verified.
Fyneface add say YEAC-Nigeria call on National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency to identify di facility operator and conduct Joint Investigation Visit to di site, and to invoke relevant provisions of Petroleum Industry Act 2021 as appropriate.
