By Edu Abade
Communities in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State have sought urgent intervention of relevant authorities to tame the recent oil spill that spread all over their shoreline on December 13, 2024.
Residents of the impacted communities explained that the spill, suspected to be from a Shell Petroleum Development Company’s (SPDC) facility in Bonny Island has spread to the Oyorokoto/Agbama/Imo River and thereby impacting communities along the river stretch.
It was learnt that that the spill emanated from a pipeline rupture at a Shell loading terminal in Bonny, while the huge impact is already felt in over 40km from the incident site with indications that due to wave action, the spill will spread to other communities along the coastline.
It would be recalled that a similar spill occurred in Shell’s Trans Niger Pipeline line III on May 11, 2024, in the Asarama Community also in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State- polluting and contaminating the environment as well as fishing gear and destroying their means of livelihood.
In a visit to the affected areas along the Oyorokoto/Agbama/Imo River, concerned stakeholders, including representatives from Andoni Host and Impacted Communities Bureau, the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) Andoni, among others, lamented their experience of the magnitude of the spill, and the immediate impacts they witnessed.
They noted that the oil spill has damaged fishing nets, boats, and other equipment, rendering them unusable. The oil spill has contaminated the waterways, making it impossible for fishermen to engage in their daily livelihood. The oil spill has caused significant environmental damage, including the destruction of mangroves, fish habitats, and other marine
life.
They urged the polluting company to quickly contain the spill to avoid further destruction and carry out cleanup and remediation as well as provide adequate compensation to the impacted community people.
A statement issued by Media and Communication Lead, Health of Mother Erath Foundation (HOMEF), Kome Odhomor, quoted its Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey, as saying: “These frequent spills are the harsh realities of community folks in the Niger Delta and in most cases nothing is done, as the communities are abandoned to suffer the impacts of the spills.
“Most of the pipelines that crisscross the Niger Delta are as old as when commercial export of crude oil started in Nigeria and a lot of these spills are coming from these old pipelines and in some other cases, equipment failure. We call on all relevant agencies to beam their searchlight on these oil companies to ensure that justice is served.”
