Oil spill: Niger Delta communities cry out over neglect

The coastal communities of Odimodi, Beneboye and Isiayeigbene, Iduwini in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State have called out Brittania-U to take responsibility for the crude oil spill which occurred on the coastline line on Thursday, July 18, 2024, caused by a fire incident that gutted one of the company’s vessels ferrying crude oil products.

The communities had before now reported massive oil pollution ravaging the Forcados area, which affected the Odimodi, Beneboye, Isiayeigbene and Okuntu community coastline in July.

Different reports from the communities alleged that a fire incident caused the crude oil spill on a Floating Production Storage and Offloading Facility owned by Brittina-U Nigeria Limited, at Ajakpa Field, OML 90.

The communities stated their positions during a People’s Assembly Action organised by the Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF) in the respective affected communities, as part of the line-up of activities towards the African People’s Counter COP (APCC) which is supported by the Africa Climate Justice Collective (ACJC) aimed at exposing the oil spill crisis caused by Brittania-U in the affected communities.

The people of the communities lamented that despite the grave health damages, and environmental and air pollution caused by the spill, neither the company, NOSDRA or any other agency has visited the communities to ascertain the level of damages caused by the spill and how the fishing and farming folks have survived in the face of their degraded environment and the destruction of livelihood.

One of the representatives of the communities, (names withheld) said: “We woke up in the night and saw fire in the sea. The company vessel was burning. Everywhere had been polluted with crude oil. The crude spread from the sea into the creeks and destroyed our land. We have suffered different kinds of sickness since then. We have been through a lot since that spill happened in July. We have evidence of some of the crude we collected from the spill.

A representative of the Isiayegbene community, Jacob Obolo said, “The waste liquid made up of oil and water is being disposed into the sea from this pipe. We have had several oil spills from Shell facility but they will blame it on sabotage without doing anything to clean up. We have been suffering from Shell spills before the one of Brittania-U in July. On July 18, we were watching as the Brittania-U vessel was burning. Before we knew it, all the crude oil in the vessel started flowing towards the shore. We have some of the crude we collected to keep as evidence.

Also speaking on the issue, the secretary of Odimodi, Preye Oweide, who received the CODAF delegation, expressed the gratitude of the community for the concern shown to their community and other neighbouring communities in the face of the oil and gas crisis rocking the area.

He lamented that the people of the communities who rely on fishing and farming as their means of livelihood, have been driven into a deep level of poverty, as the spill has destroyed their nets, have chased away the fish and their farmlands destroyed.