By Desmond Ejibas
Port Harcourt – Residents of Obelle, Ibaa and Aminigboko communities in Rivers have urged the Federal Government to compel Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to clean up oil spills in their communities.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the oil spills occurred since 2016.
Speaking on behalf of the communities, Mr January Igoma said at a news conference in Port Harcourt on Wednesday that residents had been displaced from their homes and livelihoods due to the spills.
He said that oil pollution in Ibaa and Obelle communities in Emohua council, and Aminigboko community in Abua/Odual council, had led to contamination of both surface and groundwater.
Igoma said that tests conducted in the affected areas revealed Benzene levels more than 24,000 times above the World Health Organisation (WHO)-recommended safety limit in both surface and groundwater.
“The environmental challenges posed by oil spills, air pollution and loss of biodiversity have become significant issues for the residents of Obelle, Ibaa and Aminigboko communities in Rivers.
“In 2016, the family of Samual Chukwure discovered that their hand-dug well suddenly filled with crude oil, contaminating the water inside.
“To date, SPDC has not taken steps to remediate the environment, relocate, or compensate the family,” he said.
Igoma said that the incident was reported to SPDC, but the company only sealed off the affected well without further action.
“A recent visit to the site on May 2, showed family members still living at the site amid the pollution seven years after.
“The family simply seeks relocation to a safe and secure place, and compensation paid for the damages they have endured,” he said.
Igoma recounted an explosion at a gas wellhead-4 operated by SPDC in Obella community in 1998, which resulted in a fire burning more than 30 hectares of land for about three months.
He said that during the firefighting efforts, SPDC used toxic chemicals that further harmed the health and livelihoods of people of the community.
“Following the addition of chemical by SPDC to control the fire, these chemicals washed up into the community’s aquifer, worsening the health and livelihoods of the people.
“The only solution proffered by SPDC was to acquire the lands without providing an alternative for farming.
“To this day, no compensation has been provided, leaving the community to suffer untold hardship due to insufficient land to farm,” he said.
Igoma also highlighted the devastating impact of oil pollution in Aminigboko community, Abual/Odual LGA of Rivers, on the land and air quality in the area.
He said that in spite of recommendations from an environmental impact assessment conducted by the Dutch National Contact Point, SPDC haf failed to comply with the recommendations made on Feb. 10.
“Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre environmental and socio-economic assessment conducted in Ibaa community in 2022, revealed extensive crude oil contamination in seven groundwater and four soil samples within a 6-kilometre radius.
“The assessment recommended relocating affected families and others within 1,500 metres across the SPDC pipeline right of way to safe locations within the community.
“It also recommended providing safe drinking water for the community, rectifying the leakage cause, and implementing other long-term remedies,” he said.
Igoma urged the government, SPDC, regulatory agencies, and the global community to take urgent actions to address the issues in these communities.
Dr Emem Okon, the Executive Director of Kebetkache, expressed concern over SPDC’s delayed interventions in the communities.
She said that Kebetkache, a Rivers-based advocacy group, had since 2021 been calling for an immediate remediation of the environment and dialogue between the communities and SPDC.
“It is unfortunate that nothing much has been done to address the impact of their activities in Obelle, Ibaa and Aminigboko communities.
“The human rights violations and environmental injustice has contributed to climate change manifestations in these communities,” Okon said.
The SPDC spokesperson, Michael Adande, initially responded to a call from a NAN correspondent, and after being informed of the claims, requested a day to provide a response.
In spite repeated attempts to reach him via calls and messages over four days, the SPDC image maker did not reply to the issues raised by the communities. (NAN)
