By Obiabin Onukwugha
An advocacy group, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), has reported an explosion at the Soku oil facility in Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, operated by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, which occured in the early hours of Sunday March 23, 2025.
The explosion was reported by the group’s One Million Youth Volunteers Network of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters in the Niger Delta and its Crude Oil Spill Alert System (COSAS) Network in the region.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, made available to NatureNews in Port Harcourt on Sunday, YEAC-NIGERIA said it confirmed the explosion through its youth volunteers network in the area.
It said: “According to the report, an explosion, accompanied by fireballs, was heard and seen in the sky from the facility area which is hard-to-reach and the fire is still ongoing as at the time of this report as shown in the short videos shared with the organization by the youth volunteers of YEAC-Nigeria.”
As at reporting time, it had still not been determined whether it’s caused by equipment failure, sabotage or attack on the facility.
It would be recalled that this is the third incident on oil facilities in Rivers State in less than a week, with the first occurring in the Ogoni area and the second at the Oga/Egbama/Ndoni local Government area
The body, therefore called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to carry out a joint investigation visit (JIV) to the area with a view to determining the cause of the incident and holding perpetrators to account in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.