An explosion has rocked a major oil pipeline, the Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP), at Bodo, Gokana local government area of Rivers State.

According to a report by Leadership Newspaper, although the incident occurred on Monday night, the affected section of the major pipeline was on fire on Tuesday morning.

Thick black smoke was reportedly seen billowing into the atmosphere, with a raging fire spreading fast into the mangrove from a video that emerged on Tuesday morning.

According to the report, authorities were yet to determine whether the incident resulted from human interference, especially amid recent threats by militant groups to attack oil installations in response to the federal government’s withholding of Rivers State’s monthly allocations due to the ongoing political crisis in the state.

The TNP is a federal transport line that supplies oil to the Bonny Export Terminal in Rivers State.

When contacted by Leadership, the Rivers State Police Command’s spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she did not have the full details of the incident yet.