By Obiabin Onukwugha
A coalition of 46 civil society organizations (CSOs) has demanded a halt to oil production in Ogoniland by the Nigerian government, citing unresolved spills, lack of remediation, and what they described as an affront to the memory of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people.
The coalition comprising CSOs from across the globe made its position known in a statement on Thursday made available to NatureNews.
The demand followed reports that Dutchford Exploration and Production Company Limited emerged as the successful bidder for the Yorla South oil field in Khana Local Government Area.
The coalition said the move comes barely a year after an oil spill at Yorla Well Head 14 triggered a fire, and months after a fresh spill in August 2025 in Kpean community left farmland destroyed and drinking water contaminated, with no clean-up or compensation carried out.
It would be recalled that the spill at Yorla Well Head 14 last year impacted the environment, with remediation and compensation yet to be carried out.
Some of the organizations include: Oilwatch International, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Lekeh Development Foundation, No REDD in Africa Network (NRAN), and Centre for Environmental Research and Agricultural Innovations (CERAI),
Others are Fishers Development Network, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), FishNet Alliance Network, Climáximo, Centre pour la Justice Environnementale – Togo, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung West Africa and Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement Benin (JVE BÉNIN).
The coalition described as disturbing the reported emergence of Dutchford Exploration and Production Company Limited as the successful bidder for the Yorla South oil field in Khana Local Government Area, in Ogoni, saying it “is a deeply disturbing development that must not become another chapter in the Niger Delta’s long history of environmental destruction and human rights violations.”
“We are unequivocal: DO NOT REOPEN THE WELLS. Decommission them. Clean them up. Restore the land. Protect the people. Ogoniland has suffered enough,” the statement read.
The coalition emphasized that for decades, the Ogoni people have carried the burden of an oil economy that extracted wealth from their land while leaving behind poisoned soil, contaminated water, degraded ecosystems, gas flaring and a legacy of conflict.
“How can the government contemplate new oil production in Ogoni when the environmental wounds of previous production remain unhealed? This is not development. It is a dangerous attempt to turn an unresolved disaster into a new oil frontier,” the coalition stated.
They said behind every oil licence is a community: farms, rivers, creeks, mangroves, fishing grounds, homes and ancestral lands.
“The memory of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the eight Ogoni activists executed in 1995 is a powerful reminder that this struggle has always been about dignity, survival, justice and the right of a people to determine what happens to their homeland”, the statement argued.
It read further: “We cannot honour that history by reopening wells whose environmental legacy remains unresolved, and we cannot allow the pursuit of petroleum revenue to again take precedence over human life and environmental protection.”
The CSOs stated that Kpean, the community that hosts 14 of Yorla’s oil wells, is living through an unresolved oil disaster.
“In August 2025, crude escaped from a decades-old wellhead dormant since 1993 and spread into farmland, streams and drinking-water sources. A further spill months later destroyed more farmland. Months on, Kpean has received no meaningful clean-up: farmland can no longer be cultivated, rivers can no longer be fished or drunk from, and residents describe unexplained illness and death among people and livestock,” the coalition further stated.
They demanded an immediate moratorium on the planned resumption until there is: “a full and independent assessment of the environmental condition of the Yorla South field and surrounding communities; immediate and full remediation of the ongoing Kpean oil spill, including compensation and healthcare support for affected residents; public disclosure of the licence, ownership structure, development plans and environmental obligations attached to the asset; comprehensive environmental and social impact assessments; and genuine, meaningful consultation with affected Ogoni communities,” among others.
The bodies insisted that community consultation must not be a ceremonial exercise conducted after decisions have already been made. “The people whose land is being licensed must have a meaningful voice in determining what happens to that land.”
“Any attempt to reopen the Yorla wells would not only reverse three decades of Ogoni resistance — it would undermine a movement now inspiring communities from Uganda to Namibia to Brazil to say no to fossil extraction on their own land.”
“We reject the argument that Nigeria’s economic difficulties justify reopening environmentally compromised oil fields at any cost. Revenue without environmental responsibility is simply deferred disaster. Ogoniland is watching. Civil society is watching,” the coalition stated.
“The environmental rights movement will continue to document, expose and challenge any attempt to sacrifice the rights of Ogoni people for short-term petroleum interests,” the statement concluded.
