By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Indigenes of Ogoniland have called for assistance from international communities to support them by cleaning their environment as they have lost hope in the Federal government’s assurances.
This call was made when indigenes were seen scooping oil from the site of the oil spill that happened recently in Bodo at Gokana Local Government area of Rivers State.
NatureNews had reported that on August 3, five barrels of crude oil was discharged from Shell’s Trans Niger Pipeline into Bodo community.
One of the indigenes said that the oil spill occurred from a rusted pipeline in the soil and from every indication, the cause of the spill is Shell’s equipment failure.
Speaking to NatureNews over the weekend, the general coordinator of Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) in Ogoni, Celestine Viula, expressed displeasure over the poor attention given by Shell and government agencies like the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
He described the site of the oil spillage as “a brook of oil where spillage happens on a daily basis.”
He said, “ the highest spill in Ogoniland happened in Bodo and since 2008 Shell sealed the place, nothing has been done.
“Since, 1952, shell came to Ogoniland, nothing significant has happened in Ogoniland and this people have been making money from this environment. Now, after making enough money and if gas comes into extinction, what will be the fate of the people?”
Speaking on the interventions made by NOSDRA, HYPREP and Shell for this recent spill, he said, “they are not working. The question we should even ask is how are they working on it?
“HYPREP is not doing anything tangible, If you go to the high sea, you will see how oil is flowing but they said they are doing clean up without showing us their dumpsite.
“They can’t even tell you the chemical they are using. HYPREP is not a professional clean up body and they have not done clean up anywhere in the world. They are using this thing to deceive people, it’s just a government agency for making money.
“Nothing has been done and the community people can’t do much but to take advantage of the situation.
“Most of the people you see scooping oil, do it for some other reasons like using it for soligram, that is used to rub on woods for preservation.
“They are now using the incident to create a source of income for themselves.
“We need assistance from people. Now the youths are now in charge, securing that site because they have lost trust in the community leaders. They are no more relying on the paramount ruler, we don’t regard their position because of lack of trust.”
Mr Viula urged civil society organizations, private individuals and International communities for their aid.
Meanwhile, confirming this incident, Shell’s spokesperson, Mr Michael Adande, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, said, “The spill from the Bomu-Bonny section of the SPDC JV’s Trans Niger Pipeline in Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State on August 3, 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 the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, SPDC, 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. Clean up of the impacted area and repair work on the pipeline are under way.”
Also, NOSDRA’s Director-General, Idris Musa, described the incident as a liquid release, adding that a joint investigation visit (JIV) has been launched.
“It is a liquid release. It is a mixture of residual oil and water, and it happened on a 28-inch Trans-Niger pipeline,” he told TheCable.
He, also said there were “some kind of community disturbances because they thought it was another oil spill”.
“People were pacified, and they kick-started JIV proper yesterday Thursday). It wasn’t an oil leak, it was a liquid release.”