By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
Conflicting reports are emanating from Soku, in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, where it has been reported that a gas explosion has occurred.
This report is coming less than a week after two similar incidents happened—one on the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) in Bodo community, Gokana Local Government Area, and the other on a manifold at Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area.
The latest incident is alleged to have occurred in the early hours of Sunday, with reports claiming that the affected facility belongs to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG).
However, community sources in Soku have refuted the report, saying that no such incident occurred in the community and that the pipeline remains safe and in operation.
Additionally, a very reliable source within NLNG told Nigerian Tribune that he could not immediately confirm whether the report was true or if the incident actually happened at the company’s facility.
Sunday’s report stated that the explosion occurred at a gas facility located on the Soku gas pipeline operated by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) claimed it confirmed the explosion through its network of youth volunteers in the area.
In a statement by its Executive Chairman, Dr Dumnamene Fyneface, made available to journalists in Port Harcourt, the environmental group said: “An explosion accompanied by fireballs was heard and seen in the sky from the facility area, which is hard to reach, and the fire is still ongoing at the time of this report. The cause of the explosion is not yet known—whether it was caused by equipment failure, sabotage, or an attack on the facility.”
The advocacy centre called for an investigation into the latest alleged incident, urging the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to carry out a joint investigation visit (JIV) to the area in order to determine the cause of the incident and hold perpetrators accountable in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
Reacting to the report, the leadership of the Soku community denied that there was an explosion at the gas facility in the area.
The General Secretary of the community, Mr Witness Alasia, in a statement, described the alleged explosion as untrue while urging the public to disregard the news being circulated on social media.
He said: “On behalf of the leadership of the Soku Kingdom, I write to debunk the falsehood circulating on social media that there was an explosion at the Soku Gas Plant. It is disheartening and worrisome that people would mischievously misinform the public with a baseless and untrue story. Soku Gas Plant is safe and in perfect working condition.
“The public should disregard this misleading and false report. Although there was a fire outbreak on one of the gas pipelines along the Soku-Abua-Rumuji Right of Way, the cause of the explosion remains unknown, and the company has not yet provided any useful information.
“We use this medium to inform the public that Soku and its satellite communities are safe and calm,”* Alasia added.
Additionally, the NLNG source, who pleaded anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the press, stated that he could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the report.
He urged patience from our correspondent, asking to wait for an official response from the company, which he assured would most likely be released on Monday.