By Abbas Nazil
Two Ijaw oil-producing communities in Delta State, Opuama and Polobubo (Tsekelewu), have accused Nigeria Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) and ELCREST of causing severe environmental degradation through persistent oil spills and improper disposal of hazardous drilling waste.
The communities are demanding N50 billion in compensation and immediate cleanup of the polluted areas, warning that the companies’ continued refusal to remediate the environment amounts to environmental genocide.
In a statement issued by the NGO Save the Earth and Secure the Future (SESF) and signed by Nehemiah Tobolayefa and Tari Gideon, the residents expressed frustration over years of appeals ignored by the oil firms despite repeated spills allegedly confirmed by Joint Investigation Visits as equipment failures.
They said that NEPL and ELCREST have consistently disregarded Section 4(1) of the Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria, which mandates operators to contain and clean up any spill within their operational areas.
According to the statement, communities within OML 40 have suffered strange illnesses, increased death rates, and destruction of their environment due to unchecked pollution from the Opuama flowstation.
The groups contrasted the companies’ inaction with global best practices, citing BP’s swift acceptance of responsibility and multibillion-dollar cleanup efforts following the Deepwater Horizon spill, as well as the remediation undertaken after the Erika spill in France.
They alleged that NEPL has also dumped hazardous waste at unapproved sites during drilling campaigns, with NOSDRA failing to question the scale of violations despite participating in investigations.
The communities called on the Ministers of Petroleum and Environment, the NUPRC, the United States government, and UNEP to intervene urgently to protect residents whose livelihoods and health are under severe threat.
They demanded N50 billion compensation, full cleanup and remediation within three months, and suspension of operations in OML 40 if their demands are ignored, warning that they will seek legal action to enforce their rights to health and a clean environment.
