Keme-Ebiama, Ogboinbiri and other communities in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have again been rocked by massive crude oil spill from the Ogboinbiri-Tebidaba trunk line in the council area. The spill, the second in two months in the area, from the facility inherited by Oando Energy Plc from Nigeria Agip Oil Company, which was reportedly first noticed last Friday is spewing crude into the rivulets and forests around the Apoi Creek. The cause of the spill could not be immediately ascertained until the Joint inspection Visit (JIV) is conducted. Recall that about a month ago, precisely on September 5 , a spill occurred at the same facility caused by equipment failure and, a rupture at 6 0’Clock position directly under the facility, discharging hundreds of barrels of crude oil into the Apoi Creek, swamps and farmlands around the vicinity.
Again last Friday, a fresh spill was reported with crude bubbling out of the pipeline buried under the water connecting the Ogiori stream flowing to the Apoi Creek. The fresh spill, which has spread for about a week now due to rising flood levels has impacted adversely on the Apoi Creek and swathes of swamps and farmlands of Apoi clan in the council area such as Keme-Ebiama, Kokologbeni, Gbaraun, Apoi and as far as Ukubie. Indigenes of the area lamented that their source of water, farmlands, fishing gears; ponds, crops and environment have been devastated. Chief Newstyle Ogiori , Chairman, Council of Chiefs of Keme-Ebiama, said with the pollution of the water bodies in the area, their source of water and means of livelihood had been affected. “This is just another incident within two months, there was an incident like that on 5th September and this is another one. As we speak, the first spill has not been cleaned up and relief materials not sent to the affected communities and now we are experiencing another incident. This is sad for our people who depend on the swamp for fish. Because of the rising flood the crude has spread to farmlands. You can imagine what crude does to farms. In fact, I consider this as environmental terrorism on our people. This is happening because there is no stringent environmental law against crude oil spill. We need medical care for our people who are exposed to this health hazard.”
Two other natives, Timi Koripamo, and Mrs. Gradeone Nikki who spoke said they have always been on the receiving end of crude oil exploitation and exploration activities and called for proper clean up and compensation.“Today, as you are seeing our waterfront, there is spill that is gorging out from the pipeline; we have suffered this several times. What you are seeing here on the river is also what we suffering in our farms. We need adequate compensation after the clean up. The spill has affected our farming and fishing gears,” Koripamo lamented. Also speaking, the paramount ruler of Ogboinbiri, Chief Eseimokumo Okosughe, noted that the previous oil spill has not been cleaned up, with no relief materials given to the impacted communities. He warned that with the ongoing pollution, there would be a challenge to food security in the area. In his remarks, Deputy Executive Director of the Environmental Defenders Network, EDEN, Alagoa Morris who visited the spill site for on the spot assessment, described the incident as one too many and called on Oando and other multinationals to put an end to frequent oil spills by replacing ageing pipeline and other infrastructure.
“This is another sad incident for the people whose very existence revolves around their environment. You can see the raw crude oil from Oando pipeline and for about a week this has continue to spread passing through the rivulets to Apoi Creek. We are using this opportunity to call on Oando, the operators of the facility and other multinational companies operating in the Niger Delta and the Federal Government to ensure that these incessant oil spills stop even if it means replacing the old pipelines laid many decades ago. We are also demanding proper clean up of the environment, not only the swamp but also the river banks and rivers as well as pay adequate compensation to the people who have been denied their means of livelihood and source of drinking water,” he said.
