By Vincent Ujumadu

Awka—THE fire disaster at the Inter Corp Oil Limited, a gas plant owned by the Chikason Group in the industrial town of Nnewi, Anambra State on the eve of Christmas, which claimed dozens of lives and destroyed property worth millions of naira was predicted by a prophet months before the incident.

Scene of fire disaster at the Inter Corp Oil Limited, a gas plant owned by the Chikason Group in the industrial town of Nnewi, Anambra State

A staff of the company said the prophet had warned of an impending danger in the company and asked for fervent prayers.

The worker, who declined to give his name, said: “The workers recently concluded two weeks of fasting and prayer after a prophet warned our Chairman of an impending disaster. The prophet did not specify which of the factories would be affected, which was why all workers in Chikason Group participated actively in the prayer sessions.

“I don’t know why all these bad things are happening. Our Chairman is a very good man. He is so passionate about the welfare of the downtrodden even at great personal cost.

“Last time, two of his fully loaded trucks disappeared from the face of the earth. Those vehicles were carrying items running into millions of naira. We are yet to recover from that incident and now this. The unfortunate thing was that it happened during Xmas preparation period when many people were at the plant to refill cylinders.”

Another worker in the company said those refilling gas for the customers did not wait for the mandatory period normally allowed for it to cool after discharging before attending to customers, adding that the gas evaporation must have come in contact with naked fire, leading to the explosion.