The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) has insisted that its report that more than 37 people died after allegedly inhaling a suspected petroleum product in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State was accurate.
The group said the death toll had risen following the alleged discovery of more bodies linked to the incident.
YEAC-Nigeria challenged Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to visit the affected community and immediately constitute a panel of inquiry to establish the immediate and remote causes of the incident and determine the actual number of casualties.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Sunday, the group’s Executive Director, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, also accused a firm of attempting to discredit its report through what it described as a false statement circulated by another organisation.
The group maintained that its September 3 report, titled ‘Over 37 Feared Dead in Okrika After Inhaling Suspected Indorama Fuel,’ was based on information obtained from sources on the ground.
It said the casualty figure had increased following the alleged recovery of decomposing remains of people who had earlier been declared missing.
YEAC said, ‘We reaffirm that this incident took place and people lost their lives.’
The organisation added that some survivors who were receiving treatment allegedly died later, while some victims were buried at the riverbank in line with local customs surrounding what it described as ‘dangerous deaths.’
The advocacy group said the police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had confirmed the incident and were investigating, although the agencies gave casualty figures significantly lower than the number reported by YEAC.
It also cited the Head of the Civil Joint Task Force in Okrika, Mr Igwe Godwill, as having told a television station that about 10 bodies had been recovered as of the time of his interview.
According to YEAC, a survivor also told The Nation that more than 30 persons were believed to have died while efforts to recover additional bodies continued.
The group accused Lighthope Succour Worldwide Initiative of publishing what it described as a false statement challenging its casualty figures and denying that deaths occurred.
YEAC said Lighthope later retracted the statement but alleged that several media organisations had already circulated and published it.
The group said, ‘How then can Lighthope release a statement that YEAC-Nigeria lied and that nothing of the sort happened and nobody died?’
It called on media organisations that published the disputed statement to withdraw it and apologise or risk being joined in a proposed legal action against Lighthope and its Executive Director.
The organisation also accused the firm of failing to adequately protect what it described as a dangerous product and called for the company to be held accountable if investigations established operational negligence.
The advocacy organisation’s strongest call was directed at the Rivers State Government, which it accused of maintaining silence over the incident.
YEAC said it was surprising that Governor Fubara had neither publicly spoken on the tragedy nor visited Okrika.
It urged the governor to visit the community, commiserate with bereaved families, warn youths against engaging in unauthorised activities around pipelines and petroleum facilities and provide support for families affected by the incident.
The group said, ‘We call on His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, Governor of Rivers State, to visit the people of Okrika and commission a panel of enquiry to investigate the incident with a view to determining both the remote and immediate causes, as well as the true casualty figures.’
YEAC also defended its competence and track record in reporting incidents involving pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, artisanal refining and environmental pollution in the Niger Delta.
The organisation said its network of contacts across communities and creeks in the region enabled it to obtain and verify information on illegal refining and oil theft activities.
It reiterated its call for alternative livelihood opportunities for Niger Delta youths, warning that continued economic deprivation could expose more young people to dangerous activities around oil and gas facilities.
The group said providing legitimate jobs and supporting the transition of persons involved in illegal refining into lawful businesses remained critical to preventing further deaths.