February 19, 2025

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The Fight Against Kpofire Business

3 min read

 

About two weeks ago when the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike launched the move against operators of illegal refineries in the state, perhaps not many people took him very serious.

Of course, before then, there have been high expectations that the government was going to do something drastic to stop the illegal business which is believed to have contributed largely to the environmental pollution currently being experienced in the state.

The governor had been accused of ignoring the boys. There were those who even believed that from the governor’s body language, he may have been supporting them.

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On their part, the federal government did not seem to bother about what was going on. It was common knowledge that security agencies were part of the illegal business. But nobody had the courage to talk about it, until Wike came out openly to accuse the military, the police and the civil defence of abetting the crime.

A serving DPO was even accused of owning and operating the illegal refinery. The end products from these illegal refineries are called kpofire.

Between the time that Wike raised the alarm and now, so much has happened. The DPO has been moved out of the state as requested by Wike. Local government chairmen and traditional rulers are now involved in combing the creeks and bushes in search of illegal refineries, even as they expect a payment of N2 million from the governor for every location they discover and destroy. This is aside the N20 million the governor gave to all the chairmen for the assignment.

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It is generally believed that the deliberate onslaught against the illegal refineries has led to a drastic reduction in the soot havoc in the state. it is also believed that the action will lead to an increase in the revenue base of the state, as crude would no more be stolen and refined into the kpofire diesel or kerosene.

However, the worrisome aspect is that those behind the illegal refineries are now going to be less busy and may resort to other criminal activities, including kidnapping and robbery. Already, stories of kidnapping are being told again. Last week, a woman was kidnapped on her way from an event and was kept in their custody for about a week.

In Bayelsa State, a commissioner was also kidnapped last week. He is still in their custody. There are reports that his kidnap may not be unconnected with his battle against kpofire dealers in his state.

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This is why we think that as much as the fight against kpofire business is wonderful and commendable, the Rivers State government ought to have thought of how the dealers, especially the youths, who have now been put out of business, would be assisted to be gainfully employed. Now that the boys have been taken out of the bush and without any alternative source of livelihood, the fear is that they will turn against the state and its people.

While we praise Wike for the courage to fight the criminals, we also believe that there should be a human face to it. The same government was supposed to have employed some 5000 people from the state. it is about three years now and nothing is being said about that scheme.

Those jobless boys who try to eke out a living by selling on the streets are also being hounded by Wike’s boys everywhere. They are hungry, jobless and hopeless. So, they may decide to turn to crime as a way of surviving.

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If the governor has used the N20m he is giving the local government chairmen for a scheme that will generate employment for those kpofire workers in each of the local governments, the state would have been better for it.

We urge the governor not to just chase the illegal refinery dealers out of their illegitimate business, but to think of how to engage them in meaningful ventures so that the state can know some level of peace.

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