TheCable

Two suspected attackers have been reportedly killed in the early hours of Wednesday in an explosion at a flow station in Izombe, Oguta local government area, Imo state.

The development comes in less than two weeks after an explosion at an illegal oil refining site in Ohaji/Egbema area in the state — killing more than 100 people.

A flow station is a facility where oil flows directly from the wellhead through headers and the manifold for primary treatment and separation of the bulk impurity.

The explosion occurred at the facility operated by Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Limited when the two suspected attackers tried to gain entrance into the facility before the bomb exploded, killing them.

Michael Abattam, the Imo police spokesperson, described the incident as very unfortunate.

“The Commissioner of Police has already drafted the command’s anti-bomb unit, as well as some operatives of the command to the area to prevent any breakdown of law and order,” he said. 

Describing the incident, a local source, who pleaded anonymity, said the two persons who lost their lives in the explosion were carriers of the bomb.

The source further hinted that the two victims were trying to gain access to the flow station through the facility entrance when the bomb exploded, getting them killed.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) had, in March 2022, said Nigeria lost $3.27 billion worth of crude oil to thieves in 14 months — even as the federal government reiterated that it had zero tolerance for oil vandals or saboteurs.