On January 6, 2025, a Facebook page @Naijapr claimed that over 20 people were injured in a gas explosion in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

The post reads: “Update: Over 20 persons, including a pregnant woman, four children, and a couple, are critically injured following a gas explosion in the Orazi axis of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.”

VERIFICATION 

A quick search led to a news story on The Nation Newspaper, the gas explosion incident was reported to have happened on January 5, 2025, at a gas refilling shop in the Oroazi community in Port-harcourt.

NV-A conducted a google search with the keywords “Rivers state gas explosion” and the search results turned up with news reports with some articles corroborating the claim that over 20 victims were injured in the explosion.

From further searches, we found articles from The Punch, Sahara Reporters and Nigerian info FM, confirming the gas explosion incident but their reports noted that there were 18 casualties.

The reports from these news outlets included the confirmation of casualties by the Rivers State Police Command Spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko who was interviewed by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on January 6, 2025. She said the victims are currently in the hospital receiving care.

Meanwhile, a source confirmed to The Punch that the victims included a pregnant woman, four children, and a couple.

In a new update, Vanguard Nigeria reported that the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, visited the surviving victims at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, RSUTH on January 7, 2025. It was confirmed that three persons have been confirmed dead from the gas explosion incident.

“The Chief Medical Director, CMD, of the hospital, Prof. Chizindu Alikor, disclosed that two persons, an adult and a child have died,” Vanguard Nigeria reported.

Another source confirmed to Vanguard Nigeria that a sales girl in a boutique that was also burnt died on Monday and was buried at a Cemetery in Port Harcourt, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.

CONCLUSION

It is TRUE that there was a gas explosion in Rivers state and the victims included a pregnant woman, four children, and a couple. However, it is MISLEADING that there are more than twenty casualties from the incident as the Rivers State Command of the Nigerian Police Force affirmed that 18 persons were injured in the incident and taken to the hospital but three people have been confirmed dead as of January 8, 2025.