Jesse fire disaster: 28 years after, community still cries for justice

•The dead were victims of alleged corporate, govt negligence — Judith; •Demands national monument in their honour; •Govt, oil giants should establish Idjerhe tragedy memorial museum — Dr. Egbedi; •Support our quest for justice — Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom 

By Jimitota Onoyume & Paul Olayemi

For 28 years, the people of Jesse community in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State have carried the pain of the loss of about 1,082 natives who perished in a petrol fire incident that was no fault of theirs in Atiwor community. 

Read Also: Untold story of pipeline fire explosion that killed over 22 persons

Last Saturday,  October 17,  the people of the area and guests from far and near  gathered in their large numbers for a memorial ceremony at the scene of the incident in Atiwor community, Jesse kingdom. 

It would be recalled that on October 17, 1998, a 16-inch high-pressure pipeline conveying petrol from Warri to the Kaduna refinery, owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), suffered a leakage. The petrol content spread rapidly across the area. Till date, no official cause of the incident has been reported on the pipeline built in the 1970s, which had suffered from ageing and neglect. While the community blamed decay of the facility and the failure of the oil regulatory body to maintain the pipeline, the NNPC and the military government barely three days after the incident, without any audited investigation dismissed the community’s position and alleged it was caused by oil vandals.

The spill that October 17, 1998,  attracted innocent community folks who rushed there with jerrycans and plastic buckets to scoop petrol for domestic use. Sadly, many who ran out never returned. They were consumed in a fire explosion that suddenly occurred at the scene. Some said a lighted cigarette some distance  away may have caused the fire. 

The painful incident, later known globally as the Jesse fire disaster, was the first time in the country that Nigerians in such large numbers were consumed in a petrol fire incident. Some have renamed that  single largest industrial disaster   a Holocaust. It attracted the attention of the globe, with international media houses visiting the scene to capture gory pictures of charred remains of corpses. The military Head of State then, General Abdusalami Abubakar, also flew to the community with top members of his cabinet to commiserate with the people at the scene.

Chief convener of the memorial event, Lady Judith Ojevwe Nwachukwu (nee Deniran) in her welcome address, recalled that the fire incident remained the deadliest single industrial disaster ever recorded in the country, stressing that it was due largely to.alleged  corporate negligence and  zero maintenance culture of the Federal Government and the operating oil firm. “The community came to national and global consciousness after the tragic October 1998 pipeline explosion that consumed 1,082 lives. That tragedy remains one of the deadliest industrial disasters the world has ever witnessed,” she said. 

“We note that the Idjerhe pipeline explosion was not an accident; it was an inevitable event owing to corporate negligence and zero maintenance culture of both the Federal Government and the oil multinational companies that laid the pipes. It was the rupture of the 16-inch pipeline conveying crude to Kaduna that led to the explosion,“ she added.

She further demanded that the Federal Government immortalise the victims by naming an institution and a monument after them. “To remember those victims, we demand a monument and an institution to be named in their honour. We also demand regular maintenance of the mass grave to serve as a historical site for generations,” she said.

Dr. Johnson Dudu, who gave the first lecture, called for collaboration among the people of Jesse for post-recovery in the area after the sad incident. “We need the collaboration to bring about the post-disaster recovery. It requires collaboration to achieve. We must communicate effectively the needs of the community, build relationships even beyond the government. We must make specific requests,” he said.

Dr. Mrs. Martha Egbedi, who gave the second lecture, called on the government and other relevant stakeholders to set up an Idjerhe tragedy memorial museum and environmental learning centre where students will come to learn about pipeline safety. She also urged the government and oil companies to conduct a full integrity audit of pipelines running through the Jesse community to avoid another disaster, adding that youths from the area should be employed. “In 1998, we were told it was sabotage. In 2024, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) still recorded over 500 spills in the Niger-Delta. When will it end? We demand a full integrity audit of all pipelines in Idjerhe kingdom and a community pipeline surveillance model that employs our own youths, not outsiders. Prevention is cheaper than mass burial,” she said.

“Beneath our feet are those buried here from no fault of theirs. If we remember, we must remember correctly. We remember that their families were not compensated.

 A celebrated environmentalist called it a holocaust. 

Our people were not criminals. They died because of the failure of the state. Idjerhe women became widows overnight. Our women have carried this pain for 28 years,” she lamented.

Gibson Ikanone, who gave the last paper, called for what he termed a diplomatic belligerence approach to get justice for the memories of those consumed in the inferno. He charged the leadership of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) to also join the demand for justice for the area. 

Others who spoke at the event included former member of the House of Representatives representing Ethiope Federal Constituency, Chief Halims Agoda; the lawmaker representing Ethiope West State Constituency in the state House of Assembly, Hon. Achoja Blessing; the Otota of Idjerhe Kingdom, High Chief James Onosia Obriki; and the Unogbrogodo of the kingdom, Chief Solomon Ojaraife, who all lamented the sad incident in their separate speeches. Agoda recalled how he confronted the Head of State, General Abubakar, over the incident when he visited, saying the Head of State, who understood the pain of the community, ordered his soldiers to be civil that day. Agoda echoed the call for justice for the area.

The Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom, His Majesty King Monday Obukohwo Whiskey Ph.D., Udurhie 1, who later led the community to offer prayers and light candles at the mass grave of those consumed, appealed for greater support from stakeholders across the Niger Delta to get justice for the people of Jesse. He recalled that he was a practising Journalist when the sad incident occurred in 1998, adding that when he rushed to the scene that day, he was overwhelmed by the charred remains of his natives on the ground. “I was a Journalist with a national newspaper when it happened. I was overwhelmed by what I saw when I came to the scene. I had to put myself together before I could do anything,” he recalled. 

“As a media practitioner, I helped other places  in the Niger Delta  to fight for justice for their areas . I appeal to you all  to help me and my people to fight for justice “ he urged. He also expressed gratitude to the convener of the memorial programme, Lady Judith, and the special guests from the Urhobo Arts Heritage Company Limited led by Professor Godini Godwin Darah, who was represented by the Secretary of the group, Felix Kporhotor.