Olusegun Ariyo
Communities in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State have cried out over the recent oil spill that spread all over their shoreline on Friday, December 13, 2024.
Oil spill site in River State
Community sources explained that the spill is suspected to be from a Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) facility in Bonny Island – spreading to the Oyorokoto/Agbama/Imo River and thereby impacting communities along the stretch of the river.
Another, according to Reuters, suggests that the spill emanated from a pipeline rupture at a Shell loading terminal in Bonny.
The spill is huge as its impact is already felt over 40km from the incident site, and there are indications that, due to wave action, the spill will spread to other communities along that coastline.
It will be recalled that a similar spill occurred in Shell’s Trans Niger Pipeline line III on May 11, 2024, in Asarama community, Andoni LGA, Rivers State – polluting and contaminating the environment as well as fishing gear and destroying their means of livelihood. This is according to an AIT news report of May 23, 2024.
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 Andoni, amongst 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. It has also contaminated the waterways, making it impossible for fishermen to engage in their daily livelihood. The oil spill has caused significant environmental damage, including destroying mangroves, fish habitats, and other marine life.
They urged the polluting company to contain the spill quickly to avoid further destruction, carry out cleanup and remediation, and provide adequate compensation to the impacted community.
According to Nnimmo Bassey, Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), these frequent spills are the harsh realities of community folks in the Niger Delta, adding that, in many cases, nothing is done as the communities are left to suffer.
He said: “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.”
