By Akpa Evelyn Ogbene
An explosion has occured at Aleto community, Eleme Local Government Area in Rivers state.
It was reported that the tragic incident which took place on Thursday 15 October 2026 at about 5 pm was caused by an alleged ruptured Nigerian National Petroleum Company ( NNPC ) pipeline along old Bori camp road .
According to reports one of the sources who gave his name as Emmanuel stated that the Pipeline has caused injuries and damaged properties. “This pipeline has been leaking for about three weeks before the explosion today.” he said
The source also revealed that leaders of the area had earlier notified the company about the leak but the company did not act positively
One Leader of the Eleme Legislative Council, Hon. Daniel Chuma, disclosed that he had earlier informed the Nigeria Gas Company Limited about an ongoing gas leak in the area, but no concrete measures was taken to prevent Thursday’s explosion.
Also, one Chuma, who visited the scene of the explosion, said he had written officially to the company about the leak and followed up with petitions to relevant regulatory authorities for urgent intervention.
“There was a leakage on another section of the Nigeria Gas Company. We wrote to them, and we did a petition to NOSDRA and Rivers State Ministry of Environment and copied the Police for urgent intervention,” Chuma said.
He however expressed his disappointment that despite the early warnings and formal petitions to the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, nothing concrete was done to address the situation
According to him, the failure to act promptly on the reported leakage may have contributed to the explosion, which has now caused panic and damage in the community.
He called on the Federal and State Governments, as well as relevant environmental and safety agencies, to urgently investigate the incident, hold those responsible accountable, and ensure that gas infrastructure in Eleme and other parts of Rivers State is properly maintained to avert future disasters.
“We asked for a joint investigation. We don’t know what they did before they left. Today we were called to an explosion at the same pipeline of the Nigeria Gas Company that has destroyed over 50 houses, cars, and many casualties. People have been rushed to the hospital.
“Before now, everyone scampered for safety. The few that turned up, we asked them to stay far away to avoid any further incident.”
So far, about 20 have been reported to be hospitalised
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene, in a statement, confirmed the development.
