Blessing Iruoma
A Niger Delta group, the Ogoni Liberation Initiative and residents of Bodo community in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State have expressed their worries over a fresh oil spill which occurred two days ago on Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Especially, the Ogoni Liberation Initiative strongly decried the attitude of the SPDC and HYPREP over the handling of the matter.
President of Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), Dr. Douglas Fabeke, said the group was disappointed over displeasure at the attitude of SPDC, HYPREP for their alleged inability to issue statement and put out the spills in order to curtail its spread since the spill occurred as well as commencing a proper remediation of the impacted site and compensation of the people of Bodo in line with global best practices.
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Also, residents of Bodo community in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State have decried fresh oil spill which they claimed could cause serious havoc on the lives of the people of the area. They are also unimpressed at the attitude of the SPDC over the incident.
The lamented that within a space of one month, they had witnessed incidents of spills in Sugi, Deebon and Kol-naana River in Bodo.
It would be recalled that a recent JIV report had revealed that Shell spilled five barrels of crude oil into Bodo community on August 2.
According to the report, “The spill from the Bomu-Bonny section of the SPDC JV’s Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) in Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State on 3 August 2022 was largely water (98%) from the ongoing flushing of the TNP, with residual crude oil of about five barrels as established by the signed report of the Joint Investigation Visit led by regulators, and involving representatives of the Rivers State Ministry of Environment and the community.
“Owing to the high level of theft, the SPDC has not processed crude oil through the TNP since mid-June 2022. Ceanup of the impacted area and repair work on the pipeline are under way”.
Speaking with newsmen at the current incident site at Deebon, Richard Giadom, lamented that the effect of the pollution on the community.
Mr. Giadom who said the spill has taken over their farmlands, houses, saying that many people from the community have taken refuge in neighbouring in fear of sudden explosion.
He said, “You see living houses that are already drained with oil. We cannot cook inside the house so we have to go elsewhere and find refuge. So presently the farmers have been affected”.
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Lamenting, Mrs. Charity Ghana, a native of Bodo said, “International Community should come and rescue us. I cannot say anything but God knows the best. We are dying now. Our children, everybody in the community are not safe.”
Pointing at a spill spot, Mrs. Ghana cried, “This is the first one that happened on 2nd of August and this one occurred yesterday, just yesterday. This is the first one. In the month of August about four spillages occurred in this community. I can’t see clear because of the pollution, the effect is very harsh on us”.
President of Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), Dr. Fabeke, on his part, when he spoke with newsmen at the spill site to ascertain the level of damage on the people, expressed that “the ravaging and resurfacing spill in Bodo Community which has impacted the residential areas of the community with dwellers asked to evacuate to mitigate the associated risks, including probable fire outbreak is a strong vindication of our continued agitation and demand for a comprehensive clean up of Ogoni land and the decommissioning of the decayed facilities of the SPDC”
In the words of Mr. Fabeke, “We state that if the spill of 2nd August, 2022 was immediately curtailed, the reoccurring spill of 24th August, 2022 would not have occurred”.
He, therefore, called on the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to immediately come to the aide of the Bodo people and curtail this spill so as to prevent fire outbreak and destruction of lives and properties.
He also called on residents of Bodo community to desist from the further scooping of the crude oil as it is highly inflammable and capable of causing massive explosion in the community.