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 have died in an explosion and fire near an illegal oil refinery site in the country’s oil-rich Niger Delta region. Local residents said they think dozens may have been killed in the incident and that the victims were mostly young people who came to siphon oil from a pipeline. Residents rushed in to try rescue some of those at the scene, but a man who lives in the area said Friday’s explosion was “a massive one which shook our buildings.” Illegal refineries are a lucrative business in Nigeria. They are more rampant in the Niger Delta region, where most of the nation’s oil facilities are located.