Rivers Community Calls For Urgent Action Against Pollution

Kebetkache Community in Rivers State has raised an alarm about pollution committed in the oil-rich state by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), urging the oil exploration company, the government, the global community, regulatory agencies, and relevant stakeholders to take immediate action to address the issues.

In a statement titled “The Environmental Assault Committed by Shell in Rivers Communities” issued at the weekend to commemorate World Press Freedom Day, the community stated: “The Niger Delta faces a threat to sustainable development. The environmental crises of air pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change have become significant challenges for individuals and communities.

The statement read: “This is why the Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre is using World Press Freedom Day to provide an update on key environmental injustice cases in Rivers state.” This is required to prevent misinformation and disinformation from people who do not understand the issues. It is important to remember that the information ecosystem is critical.

“The theme of the 2024 World Press Freedom Day is “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of Environmental Crisis,” which emphasises the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in light of the current global environmental crisis. In light of this, the Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre, in collaboration with other organisations, presents environmental pollution issues in the Ibaa and Obelle communities of the Emohua local government area, as well as the Aminigboko community of Abua/Odual local government area.

“In 2016, people in the Chukwure family compound discovered that their hand-dwell was filled with crude oil rather than the water it had been producing until that fateful day. The case was reported to Shell, a corporation that operates in the area.

“The family has been worried about their fate while living in such polluted conditions. Shell’s response to advocacy efforts to obtain justice for the family includes sealing off the affected well.

“A visit to the site on May 2nd, 2024 revealed that some families are still living with the pollution. The family wants to be relocated to a safe and secure location, as well as compensated for the damages suffered by family members thus far.

“The Obelle community in Emuoha Local Government Area, Rivers State, is one of the locations where Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) conducts oil extraction activities. In 1998, the well-4 head operated by Shell erupted in a gas fire, burning over thirty hectares of land in the community for three months.

The community claimed that “after burning for a few weeks, SPDC added some chemicals to control it.” The
Chemicals were washed into the community’s aquifer, affecting people’s health and livelihoods. SPDC’s only solution was to acquire these lands without any alternative provisions for farming. There was no compensation provided to the community, and the people suffered untold hardship as a result of insufficient land to carry out their farming activities, with women being the hardest hit in terms of displacement.

“Cases of environmental pollution have also been reported in the Aminigboko community, where environmental impact assessments are also being contested by community members. The issues were reported to the Dutch National Contact Point, who stepped in and made recommendations. Since the recommendation on February 10, 2023, the company has refused to address the issues.”

According to the statement, Kebetkache conducted an environmental and socioeconomic assessment in the Ibaa community in 2022, and the key findings from the field revealed widespread crude oil contamination in the seven groundwater and four soil samples covering a radius of about 6 kilometres. Based on the risk associated with undue exposure to crude oil contamination, the assessment recommended as an emergency measure that the impacted families and others within 1500 metres acr

“Kebetkache is thus using this medium to call on the government, global community, SPDC, regulatory agencies, and relevant stakeholders to take immediate action to address these issues,” the statement continued.