A fire has broken out in a section of the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State, causing brief concern, but was swiftly brought under control. The incident occurred on Wednesday, and the National President of the Petroleum Retailers Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, confirmed the outbreak to DAILY POST.
According to Gillis-Harry, the fire was contained in less than five minutes, preventing any major damage or casualties. “Yes, it is true that there was a fire outbreak in the Port Harcourt refinery, but it was contained in 5 minutes,” he told DAILY POST.
This incident follows a series of explosions earlier the same day at the pipeline manifold and the Trans-Niger Pipeline in the Omwawriwa axis of the Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area and the Bodo-Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, which heightened concerns over the state’s ongoing security challenges.
The fire at the refinery comes just hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing unresolved crises and escalating insecurity in the region.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire at the refinery while also addressing the wider security issues in the state.