Police: Illegal refinery blast in Nigeria kills at least 12

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Nigeria Police Force says at least 12 people were killed on Friday in an explosion near an illegal oil refinery site in the country’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, with the casualty figure expected to rise as the fire raged on for hours. Locals told The AP that dozens may have been killed in the incident and that the victims were mostly young people who came to steal from an oil pipeline to transport in at least five vehicles to an illegal refinery site. “Everybody in about five vehicles there was all burnt” in the fire that raged on for hours, said Fyneface Dumnamene, executive director of Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre that advocates for environmental protection in the area.