By Barbara Nwaiwu and Rasheeda Hamidu
The Director of Health of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Dr Nnimmo Bassey, has described Bayelsa State as the most polluted state in Nigeria, citing decades of environmental damage from oil and gas extraction.
Bassey made the declaration on Thursday during a one-day capacity-sharing programme with residents of Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Citing the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission Report published in May 2023, he said the state recorded a per capita oil pollution level of 1.5 barrels of crude oil. He added that Bayelsa was possibly among the most polluted places in the world.
“Oil companies have not adequately cleaned up polluted areas,” Bassey alleged, “some have relied on superficial measures instead of proper remediation.” He urged operators to undertake comprehensive restoration and to end what he described as the “systematic destruction of the Niger Delta,” which he said had been treated as a “sacrificial zone” since the 1950s.
Bassey also referenced the United Nations Environment Programme’s assessment of Ogoniland, commissioned by the Federal Government in 2006 and conducted between 2009 and 2011. He described it as one of the most comprehensive environmental studies in an oil-producing region, involving fieldwork across Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme LGAs, laboratory analysis and community consultations.
He said oil and gas extraction had contributed to massive deforestation, erosion, and damage to coastal and terrestrial ecosystems. “The description of the situation as ‘environmental genocide’ should not be dismissed despite the weight of the term,” he added.
The Bayelsa State Government has also acknowledged the scale of the challenge. It said the Commission’s report documented poisoned rivers and creeks, degraded farmlands, health concerns and damaged livelihoods linked to oil production. The government announced plans for a state Recovery Agency and a dedicated Recovery Fund.
*Stakeholders Demand Immediate Remediation, Accountability*
The call for urgent action dominated discussions at the Nembe meeting, with community leaders, health officials and residents asking the Federal Government, Bayelsa State Government and oil companies to move beyond promises to concrete cleanup.
The Head of Administration of Nembe LGA, Mr Godson Jim-Dorgu, said oil spills and petroleum activities had destroyed fishing grounds and farmlands, leaving families in the area in worsening hardship. He described Nembe as one of the communities most affected by spills in the Niger Delta and said the time for delays had passed.
“We are tired of assessments without action,” Jim-Dorgu said. “The Federal Government and oil companies must immediately begin remediation of all areas damaged by exploration and production activities. Our people cannot eat promises. Our rivers are dead, our farms are poisoned.”
He specifically referenced the Santa Barbara oil spill, which lasted for about six months in 2021. According to him, the spill was never properly cleaned and continues to affect aquatic life and community livelihoods years later. He called for a full post-impact assessment, independent monitoring, and compensation for affected households.
The Director of Primary Health Care in Nembe, Chief Jude Pulemote, linked oil exploration directly to public health crises in rural communities. He said clinics in Nembe were recording high cases of anaemia among pregnant women, skin diseases, and respiratory problems, which he attributed in part to contaminated water and disrupted livelihoods.
“The people have lost their means of survival,” Pulemote said. “When fishing and farming collapse, nutrition collapses. When water is polluted, health collapses. We are appealing to the Federal and Bayelsa governments to treat this as an emergency and deploy health interventions alongside environmental cleanup.”
He urged the government to establish mobile health units in impacted communities and to fund long-term studies on the health effects of hydrocarbon exposure in Nembe.
Other participants at the programme called for transparency in the cleanup process. They demanded that remediation contracts be awarded to firms with proven capacity, and that community representatives be included in monitoring teams to ensure work is not done “on paper only.”
Bassey, on behalf of HOMEF, said any remediation must go beyond surface cleaning. “What we need is comprehensive environmental restoration — soil, water, biodiversity and livelihoods,” he said. “Oil companies must be held to international standards and to the polluter-pays principle.”
He added that the establishment of the proposed Bayelsa Recovery Agency and Recovery Fund must be fast-tracked with clear timelines, independent oversight, and direct benefit to host communities.
*Scientific and Regulatory Backdrop*
The environmental concerns are supported by scientific research on the Santa Barbara River. A peer-reviewed study examining the aftermath of hydrocarbon spillage in Bassambiri-Nembe found elevated physicochemical parameters and heavy-metal concerns in sampled water and groundwater, highlighting potential risks to ecosystems and public health.
Regulatory records show the 2021 Santa Barbara well incident was stopped in December 2021, with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission stating that post-impact assessment and clean-up would follow under supervision.
More recently, a separate oil leak from an OML 29 crude delivery pipeline in October 2025 polluted communities around the Santa Barbara River, with affected communities calling for a thorough investigation and remediation.
NatureNews reports that prolonged oil pollution in the Niger Delta continues to raise concerns over ecosystem degradation, contaminated water sources, damaged livelihoods and the need for effective remediation and environmental accountability in oil-producing communities.
At the close of the programme, participants adopted a resolution urging immediate government intervention, full remediation of Nembe and other impacted areas, livelihood restoration for affected families, and the prosecution of companies found to have carried out substandard cleanups.
