By JIMITOTA ONOYUME
Meanwhile, the Police Sergeant, who lost three of his children, his wife and brother-in-law to kerosene explosion last week in Port Harcourt, said a friend gave him the killer kerosene as gift.

Sergeant Maxwell Udok, who spoke to  Vanguard, yesterday, on his hospital bed when staff of the Directorate of Petroleum Resources, Port Harcourt unit visited to commiserate with him, explained that the friend’s wife sold kerosene at Mbiama Bridge,a border bridge between Bayelsa and Rivers States. According to him, he visited them and while on his way back to his Port Harcourt residence, the friend gave him a 20 litre jerrycan of kerosene.

Mbiama Bridge is a place noted in the Niger Delta for trade in adulterated petroleum products. It still baffles many how the business thrives with the presence of security operatives including soldiers in  the area.

Meanwhile, Udo who is fast recovering from the first degree burns he suffered in the inferno at his residence, lamented the pain the gift had brought on his home.

It will be recalled that casualties of the kerosene explosion   were rushed to two seperate hospitals in the state capital, where they were rejected before they were  accepted at another hospital.

Luck however was not on his side as they all later died.

His case was not severe because he was not in the apartment when the explosion occurred. A doctor at the Police clinic where he was being treated told the Vanguard that Udo’s problem at the moment had to do with emotional trauma. According to the doctor, since he suffered first degree burnt he had been giving enough medical attention that could make him go back home. But he could not be discharged because of the emotional challenges he was passing through. The doctor said matters almost became worst for him recently when he started passing out too frequently.

At press time he said the patient’s situation was getting better.  Vanguard gathered before leaving the hospital premises that he had not been told of the death of the in_law