New oil spill ravages Rivers community

A new oil spill has caused significant damage in Bodo City, Gokana local government area, an Ogoni territory in Rivers State, following months of similar incidents.

The Eco Defence Alliance (EDA), a non-governmental organisation, has expressed concern over the frequent oil spills in the Bodo community. EDA criticized the government’s inability to implement permanent solutions to the ongoing crisis in Bodo.

“This is not funny to hear that Bodo is a community with the highest number of crude oil spills that the world has ever recorded in human history”, the NGO said.

EDA spoke at the site of the oil spill in Bodo City shortly after a visit to the scene on Thursday.

The group in a statement signed by its coordinator, Damian Gbogbara said the latest spill occurred on Thursday 4th July 2024, at about 12:45 am in the Sugi area of the Bodo community, not far from where multiple oil spills occurred in recent times the Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP) operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) Ltd.

Mrs Monica, whose residential home is located close to the spill site said: “A loud sound was heard like that of last year’s blast at about 12:45 am.

Members of EDA and community folks report that the latest spill was allegedly caused by equipment failure.

The community-based environmental advocacy group said it had lost count of oil spills in Bodo due to incessant occurrences.

The group warned that caution should be exercised by relevant authorities in the quest to find out the cause of the spill and subsequent closure of the leaked pipes to avoid any crisis in the community.

The statement said: “Again, there is the need for transparency in the whole process, from constituting the JIV team to its implementation and its final result to avoid any form of crisis as witnessed the other time.

“The JIV report will help to hold the companies to account and also served as evidence-based documents for possible litigation on the ecosystem destruction, and safe the fragile Bodo, Ogoni, and Niger Delta Environment, especially with the ongoing Clean Up exercise by the Bodo Mediation Initiative (BMI), beside the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) coordinated Clean Up gearing up to start in the area.

“Eco Defence Alliance, therefore, calls on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to immediately embark on a joint investigation visit (JIV) with Shell and other relevant stakeholders to the spill site in Sugi Area of Bodo City and not to delay as it has always been doing, and thereby refused to carry out JIV on the February 18th, 2019, Oil Spill till date.”

Damian said the JIV report was important as it would help to determine the cause of the spill, the volume of the spill, and the extent of damage to the environment and the ecosystem.

He warned against any attempt to manipulate the JIV process and its outcome.

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