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A30 world news
Dialuna 25 aPRil 2022

Manhunt on for suspects as 100 die in Nigeria refinery blast

ruary 2022, with shady busi-
ness operators often avoiding As many as 30 illegal oil re-
regulators by setting up re- fineries were busted in the
fineries in remote areas such Niger Delta region in just
as the one that exploded in two weeks, Nigeria’s Defense
Imo, the Nigerian Upstream Department said earlier this
Petroleum Regulatory Com- month when it announced a
mission (NUPRC) said in task force to curb crude oil
March. theft.

“There are no arrests yet but In the aftermath of the explo-
the two culprits are on the sion in Imo state, the Nigeri-
run with the police now look- an ministry of petroleum told
ing for them,” said Declan The AP there is “a renewed
Emelumba, the Imo State action” to tackle illegal activi-
commissioner for informa- ties in the oil sector.
tion. Officials did not reveal
the identities of the suspects. The government and the
military are stepping up ac-
A mass burial is being tions “to minimize the crimi-
planned for those killed in nalities along the oil produc-
the explosion, many of who tion lines,” said Horatius
“were burnt beyond rec- Egua, a senior official at the
ognition,” said Emelumba. petroleum ministry.
Environmental officials have
(AP) — At least 100 people Imo state was triggered by a started to fumigate the area. But many of the culprits
may have died in an explo- fire at two fuel storage areas Buhari has directed the na- are not deterred including
sion at an illegal oil refin- where more than 100 people tion’s security forces “to in- Such disasters are a regular in Imo state, one of the few
ery in southeast Nigeria, a worked, state officials told tensify the clampdown” on occurrence in Africa’s most places producing oil in Nige-
local oil official said Sun- The Associated Press. such facilities being oper- populous country, where ria’s southeast. The problem
day as the search intensi- ated illegally in many parts of poverty and unemployment of illegal refineries “has never
fied for bodies at the site Dozens of workers were southern Nigeria, a spokes- – at 33% according to the been this bad” and remains
and for two people sus- caught up in the explosion person said in a statement. latest government estimates “difficult to end,” said Opiah,
pected of being involved while many others attempted – have forced millions of the Imo petroleum commis-
in the blast. to escape the blaze by run- Although Nigeria is Africa’s young people into criminal sioner.
ning into wooded areas. largest producer of crude oil, activities.
Nigerian President Muham- for many years its oil produc- “It is like asking why kidnap-
madu Buhari, in a statement, Those who died in the disas- tion capacity has been limited Operating illegal refineries ping or armed robbery has
called the explosion a “catas- ter are estimated to be with- by a chronic challenge of oil is not as popular in Imo state not stopped,” he said. “Even
trophe and a national disas- in “the range of 100,” said storage and the operation of as it is in the oil-rich Niger with this incident, not many
ter.” Goodluck Opiah, the Imo illegal refineries. Delta region, where militants people will be deterred. I am
commissioner for petroleum have gained notoriety for sure more illegal refineries
The explosion Friday night resources. “A lot of them ran Nigeria lost at least $3 billion blowing up oil pipelines and will be cropping up in other
at the facility in Ohaji-Egbe- into the bush with the burns worth of crude oil to theft be- kidnapping workers from pe- places.”
ma local government area in and they died there.” tween January 2021 and Feb- troleum companies.

El Salvador president wants to extend state of emergency

(AP) — President Nayib Bukele other measures. the state has long been absent. They and forcing businesses that can’t or
asked El Salvador’s congress Sun- are a drain on the economy, extorting won’t pay to close.
day to extend an anti-gang emer- Among other things, they lengthened money from even the lowest earners
gency decree for another 30 days. sentences, reduced the age of crimi-
nal responsibility to 12.
Bukele has used the emergency pow-
ers to round up about 16,000 suspect- El Salvador’s congress has authorized
ed gang members, following a spate prison sentences of 10 to 15 years for
of murders in March. news media that reproduce or dis-
seminate messages from the gangs,
Rights groups have criticized the alarming press freedom groups.
measures, saying arrests are often ar-
bitrary, based on a person’s appear- Gang members held at Salvadoran
ance or where they live. prisons have been put on reduced
food rations, denied mattresses and
The original 30-day state of emergen- frog-marched around.
cy approved in late March restricts
the right to gather, to be informed of Rights groups have expressed con-
rights and have access to a lawyer. It cerns that innocent people are being
extends to 15 days the time that some- caught up in sweeps targeting the no-
one can be held without charges. torious violent street gangs.

It came after a spate of killings in late Gangs control swaths of territory
March, when gangs were blamed for through brutality and fear. They’ve
62 killings in a single weekend, a level driven thousands to emigrate to save
of violence the country of 6.5 million their own lives or the lives of their
has not seen in years. children who are forcibly recruited.
Their power is strongest in El Salva-
Bukele has also established a raft of dor’s poorest neighborhoods where