An explosion on Tuesday killed five suspected oil pipeline vandals in the Obitti community of Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State.
An eyewitness told journalists on Wednesday that the vandals stormed the Obitti Rubber Estate in the area with an articulated vehicle and dug an oil pipeline that passed through the area.
“They dug a hole in the pipeline and connected their long pipe to their tanker to steal oil.
“I cannot say exactly what caused the explosion but I know and from what I saw, that many people died, and many others, who narrowly escaped the explosion, sustained various degrees of injuries.
“The fire that raged for hours burnt the tanker and also affected our farm produce worth millions of naira,” he stated.
The spokesman for the state police command, Henry Okoye, confirmed the incident in Owerri.
He said the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aboki Danjuma, had already set up a team to unravel the immediate cause of the incident and arrest fleeing culprits.
Okoye said: “Yes, the incident happened yesterday (Tuesday).
“Five vandals were burnt beyond recognition and we are currently investigating it in collaboration with our sister security agencies to unravel the identities of those behind the economic sabotage.
“They went for their normal pipeline vandalism when the incident occurred.
“Our goal is to make sure that similar vandalism does not occur in the future.”