Rivers Youths Blame Shell For Last Week’s Explosion That Claimed A Dozen Lives, Threatens Legal Action

Youths in Rivers State under the aegis of Rumuekpe Youth Elites have blamed Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) for the explosion that rocked the Rumuekpe community in Emohua Local Government Area of the state last week.

Naija News gathered that the youth group has threatened to drag Shell and the Department of State Service (DSS) to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for being responsible for the death of a dozen persons at an explosion that rocked the community last Friday.

The President of the Rumuekpe Youth Elites; Maxwell Agala, during a press briefing said the group will drag Shell and DSS to the ICC to claim damages resulting from the explosion that killed several persons and burnt down vehicles in their community last Friday.

Agala queried the DSS about it’s role in the destruction of properties and illegal arrest of people in the area.

The group also allege that Shell has a lukewarm attitude to addressing reports of pipeline sabotage, claiming that SPDC waits until there is a disaster, like the recent explosion.

Agala noted that “I am telling the world that SHELL is to blame because they have failed to carry out their Corporate Social Responsibility to our community. They are the cause of everything that is happening in Rumuekpe today. They are the cause of the fire outbreak.

“They are the major connivers. I have their details with some of their security agencies, most importantly the DSS, coming to the community for arrests, looting the community, youths, properties, valuables worth millions of naira.

“They are all connivers of what is happening in Rumuekpe today. If SHELL say they are not connivers, then the ICC is not afraid of SHELL or the DSS.”

Recall that Naija News reported last Friday that a dozen was confirmed dead at an explosion that occurred at a pipeline tapping point in Rumuekpe community, Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State.

It was gathered that the explosion occurred along the Trans-Niger Delta Pipeline (TNP), and those affected are believed to be crude oil thieves who were engaged in the business of illegal refining of stolen crude oil.

It was also learnt that people around the tapping point, who had earlier loaded the stolen crude oil and those who waited for their turn were all burnt in the explosion.

Meanwhile this online news platform understands that Shell has claimed ownership of the pipeline, where the fire ignited, and have accused the people of sabotaging their pipeline, which resulted in the disaster of last week Friday