There are conflicting reports emanating from Rivers State, with two stakeholders on the Okrika pipeline incident, sharing conflicting signals to the world.

On its part, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) revealed that four corpses had been sighted in connection with the incident, while Indorama Petrochemical Limited (IPL) washed its hands off, denying any link to the reported fatalities.

What is clear, however, is that on Saturday, there was an ugly incident at Jetty Creeks, Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State which cost human lives, and has led to conflicting accounts over what caused the deaths and what the victims were doing at the time of the incident.

The NSCDC Rivers State Command, in an update issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Ayodele, said its undercover team, after conducting further assessment and surveillance of the affected area, sighted four corpses believed to be connected to the incident.

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The command, however, stressed that the identities of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding their deaths were still being verified.

One of the victims was identified as Taribo Levia, whose remains had reportedly been buried according to traditional customs. Other persons reportedly sighted were Ogoloma Tamunoene Fred, Amiso and Belema Siyerminma from Ngabiri.

The command said earlier casualty figures circulating in the aftermath of the incident were not fully verified and might have been overstated.

It said it had commenced further investigation and information gathering with relevant stakeholders to determine the immediate and remote causes of the incident, establish the identities of all victims and ascertain whether anyone remained unaccounted for.

The NSCDC also warned residents against vandalism, unauthorised access to petroleum facilities, illegal tampering with pipelines and the dangerous practice of scooping petroleum products.

According to Ayodele, “The command notes that the initial casualty figures circulating in the aftermath of the incident were not fully verified and may have been overstated. The command is therefore relying on information obtained through its ongoing field assessment and investigation to establish the actual number of victims.

“The Rivers State Commandant noted that the NSCDC has commenced further investigation and information gathering in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to establish the immediate and remote causes of the incident, ascertain the identities of all victims and determine whether any persons remain unaccounted for,” Ayodele added.

But the management of Indorama, through Major Fidelis Akando (rtd.), Coordinator of Pipeline Surveillance in Indorama, dismissed reports linking the company or its facility to the deaths.

Akando, who spoke during an inspection of the area, said he had been stationed at the location since Monday in connection with the lifting of one of Indorama’s by-products, known as cracked C5, into a vessel.

He explained that stakeholders, including security agencies, had been mobilised for the operation and that there was heavy security presence around the jetty and pipeline corridor.

He said: “The distance between the petrochemical refinery and the jetty is about 7.5 kilometres and is covered by security personnel.”

He described as “embarrassing” and “very unfortunate” reports that between 37 and 40 people had died while allegedly scooping petroleum products from an Indorama pipeline.

Akando insisted that no such incident occurred within the facility or the area where he had been stationed since Monday.

He said while people had previously attempted to rupture pipelines carrying petroleum by-products, Indorama had neither authorised nor encouraged such activities.

“If a thief is injured in the course of stealing, will you blame the owner of the house?” he queried, stressing that the company had no connection with the alleged incident.

A visit to communities surrounding the NNPC jetty, in Okrika, also produced conflicting accounts.

Some residents denied witnessing any major fire outbreak or mass casualty in the area, although they acknowledged that people sometimes ventured into the waterways to collect petroleum products during loading operations.

However, residents in other parts of Okrika said some of the deceased were fishermen and had no involvement in illegal oil activities.

Residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that the victims were fishing around a creek near the Beat Four pipeline axis when the incident occurred.

They alleged that the victims inhaled a substance following an explosion and were unable to escape because of the movement of the water.

Arabibia Minanyo, whose husband was among those reported dead, said the incident occurred on Tuesday. She maintained that her husband was not involved in illegal oil activities and had since been buried according to the customs of the community.

The conflicting accounts have heightened calls for an independent and transparent investigation into the incident.

A military aircraft has crashed during an airshow at a base outside Athens, Greece, killing the two pilots onboard.

The incident occurred on Saturday during the annual “Athens Flying Week” airshow, according to the Greek news agency ANA.

The aircraft, identified as an F-4 Phantom, had reportedly just taken off when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed.

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The crash happened in front of thousands of visitors attending the airshow and was followed by an explosion.

The two pilots aboard the aircraft died in the crash, while the circumstances that led to the aircraft losing altitude remained unclear.

A fire service helicopter was dispatched to the scene to extinguish the blaze caused by the crash, according to Greece’s public broadcaster, ERT.

Following the incident, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias cancelled a planned trip to Thessaloniki’s International Fair and travelled to the crash site.

Authorities are expected to investigate the crash to determine what caused the military aircraft to lose altitude shortly after take-off.

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Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to constitute an independent team of experts to investigate ₦33.75 billion reportedly paid to 3.29 million vulnerable Nigerian households under the Federal Government’s cash-transfer programme.

Atiku made the declaration in a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, following an audit report that raised questions over whether the funds actually reached the intended beneficiaries.

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According to Atiku, the figures expose serious concerns about the government’s intervention programme, noting that ₦33.75 billion divided among 3.29 million households amounts to approximately ₦10,258 per household.

He criticised the Bola Tinubu administration for removing the fuel subsidy and increasing taxes, tariffs, transportation and electricity costs, while the intervention meant to cushion the impact of those policies was now facing serious accountability questions.

“This is beyond a bookkeeping scandal. The intervention is insultingly small, yet even that small amount cannot be cleanly accounted for,” Atiku said.

He also questioned the varying figures released by the government regarding the number of households that benefited from its intervention programme.

Atiku noted that the administration had claimed that more than ₦600 billion had been disbursed to over 10 million households, after Nigerians were earlier told that about 15 million households were beneficiaries.

“It now appears that the Tinubu administration cannot give Nigerians a coherent account of how many households actually benefited from its intervention programme, while significant portions of the expenditure have failed to withstand independent audit scrutiny,” he said.

The former vice president said the Auditor-General for the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, was reportedly questioning ₦33.75 billion allegedly paid to 3.29 million beneficiaries.

He added that the audit also raised questions over ₦36.74 billion in payments reportedly made without pre-payment audit and another ₦4.62 billion for which payment vouchers were not produced.

Atiku commended Chira for what he described as putting his constitutional responsibility above political convenience.

“That is what institutions are supposed to do — protect the public purse, not the political comfort of those in power,” he said.

Explaining his decision to launch an independent probe, Atiku said Nigerians could not reasonably be expected to trust the same government whose expenditure was under scrutiny to investigate itself.

“My team will constitute an independent group of financial, audit, technology and public-accounting experts to interrogate the available records surrounding these cash-transfer payments,” he said.

He said the team would examine beneficiary figures, payment channels, reconciliation records, audit queries and other inconsistencies surrounding the payments.

Atiku also said the investigation would establish whether the beneficiaries actually received the funds and determine whether access to relevant records had been obstructed.

“If Remita processed these transactions, the relevant records should be available for scrutiny. If beneficiaries received the money, there should be evidence. If access to records was obstructed, Nigerians deserve to know by whom and why,” he said.

He demanded that the government publish a verifiable payment trail if the beneficiaries were genuine, while insisting that funds should be recovered if they did not reach the intended recipients.

Atiku further called for prosecution of any official found to have diverted, misapplied or misappropriated funds meant for vulnerable Nigerians.

He argued that Nigerians needed more than repeated palliative announcements, saying the government should pursue economic policies capable of improving purchasing power and reducing the daily cost of transportation, food and energy.

“Our intervention will follow production. It will support domestic refining, increase local supply, reduce the cost of energy and ensure that the benefit reaches Nigerians through lower prices,” he said.

Atiku maintained that Nigerians who had already endured higher fuel prices, food costs, electricity bills, transportation fares and taxes should not also lose funds appropriated in their names.