By Obiabin Onukwugha
Fresh oil spill has been reported in Bodo community, Gokana local government area of Rivers State.
Bodo Community has suffered several oil.spillsmthst led to the litigation against Shell in the Hague where the court found the company and was ordered to pay compensations.
The latest spill, according to community sources, occured in Sugi area of the community on Thursday July 4, close to thr Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP) operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) Ltd., where a previous spill was also reported last year.
NatureNews gathered that a loud sound was heard by residents around 12.45pm on Thursday and was later confirmed to be a spill. Community sources who spoke with our correspondent has attributed the spill to equipment failure.
Reacting, an environmental body, Eco Defence Alliance, has called for a transparent investigation that will lead to clean up and remediation. Eco Defence Alliance decried the incessant oil spills in Bodo community.
The body in a press statement issued in Port Harcourt by its Coordinator, Damian Gbogbara, made available to NatureNews wondered why the authorities have refused to proffer permanent solutions to the menace of crude oil spill in Bodo and the Niger Delta as a whole.
The statement read in part: “As a new oil spill has been reported again in Bodo City in Gokana Local Government Area (Ogoni) of Rivers State, months after many other multiple crude oil spills have occurred along the pipeline but at different location, among many others over the years. 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 Community-based Environmental Advocacy Group said it has lost count of oil spill incidents in Bodo.community and 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 body emphasised that the JIV report is very 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. It also warned against any attempt to manipulate the JIV process and its out come.
“Again, there is the need for transparency in the whole process, from constituting the JIV team to it 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 like it has always been doing, and thereby refused to carry out JIV on the February 18th 2019, Oil Spill till date,” the statement added.
On its part, the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Fyneface Dumnamene, for swift action from relevant authorities to unravel the cause of the spill.
“The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) has received reports that an oil spill has occurred in Bodo City in Gokana LGA (Ogoni) of Rivers State. The cause of the spill is yet unknown.
“We call on NOSDRA to swing into action with a view of conducting Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to the alleged spill site,” the statement read.