According to police, an explosion at an illicit oil refinery in southern Nigeria killed at least 50 persons. Hundreds of employees were said to have been working at the refineries at the time of the massive incident. Many people were burned to a crisp.

        Due to high levels of poverty and unemployment, many people of oil-rich regions in southern Nigeria have turned to illicit oil processing as a source of income. The death toll might grow, according to the AFP news agency, which reported a local official as stating that "at least 80 badly burned bodies" had been retrieved at the scene.

        According to Ifeanyi Nnaji of the National Emergency Management Agency, "we learned that numerous dead are in adjacent bushes and woodlands as some unlawful operators and their consumers scampered for safety." Authorities have been battling to stop the spread of clandestine refineries where stolen crude oil is processed.

        The source of the explosion, which occurred sometime overnight into Saturday, is unknown, although tragedies have occurred in the past at comparable problematic places where safety precautions were not followed. Concerns have been raised about a lack of safety safeguards at such sites, as well as pollution.

        Nigeria's official oil refineries, on the other hand, are not operating at full capacity, resulting in regular gasoline shortages and price hikes across the country.