* Affected communities, CSOs call for immediate action, threaten legal action
By Obiabin Onukwugha & Grace Ademulegun
Fire has broken out in a wellhead of OML15, a facility operated by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), also known as Bukuma/Buguma flow station located in the Buguma waterways, Asari-Toru local government area of Rivers State.
NatureNews gathered that the raging inferno, which has lasted for four days as of the time of filing this report, was a result of shelling of the area by security agencies to ward off oil thieves from the wellhead, which has a spill.
Journalists and the natives could not access the scene of fire outbreak on Tuesday as gunboats loaded with security personnel were stationed close to the scene of the oil spill where the fire broke out.
Livingstone Membere, President of Kalabari Youths Federation and leader of the team that led newsmen to the scene explained that repeated raid by the security agents is responsible for the oil spill that now resulted in the fire outbreak.
Some natives of Buguma who spoke with the newsmen, called on the government and relevant agencies to urgently put off the fire. A Youth Leader, Taribo Horsefall lamented the impact of the fire on the livelihoods of the community.
Meanwhile, civil society organisations, have condemned the failure of the federal and state governments and as well the relevant agencies and the operator to put off the fire four days after it occured.
The CSOs, Environmental Defenders Network, (EDEN), and Defense for Human Right and Democracy (DHRD), in separate statements made available to NatureNews in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday, called for immediate action to put off the inferno.
EDEN in the statement by its Executive Director, Chima Williams berated the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and oil regulatory agencies for not taking the necessary measures to protect the environment and the people from such high level environmental disaster, insisting it was gross negligence of human and environmental rights.
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Williams said: “It is unfortunate that for the people of the localities involved, the year 2025 has started on a bad note with the disruption of the environment that sustains their livelihood. In an ideal society where ministries and agencies of government are up and doing, an oil spill is not supposed to last for that long, talk more of a fire outbreak that could destroy human, aquatic and wildlife in a very short period.”.
Williams stressed that aside from the environmental and ecological damage, the people of that area have been exposed to several chemicals that could be detrimental to their health, considering how delicate the riverine terrain is.
He called on the Rivers State Ministry of environment, NOSDRA and the other agencies to rise up to their responsibility of protecting the interest of the common people.
He further called on the military and security agencies to adopt more professional and environmentally friendly ways of tackling oil theft and bunkering in the Niger Delta region.
On his part, the Chairman of DHRD, Clifford Christopher, threatened to mobilise mass protests and institute legal action against the government and the NNPCL if nothing urgent is done to quickly put off the fire.
Christopher decried that host communities of the Niger Delta region have continued to suffer impacts of oil exploration for decades and called for remediation and compensation processes for the impacted communities of the spill and fire outbreak.
The chairman said: “The Defense for Human Right and Democracy (DHRD), note with much concern the prolonged oil spill that occurred in Buguma waterways in Degema local government area of Rivers State. The coastal oil well and facility is being operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPCL.”
He described the incident as a serious environmental threat and right to life of the people. Regrettably, this incident has gone on for too long and based on this avoidable spill, the lives of the aborigines have been completely destroyed.
“The Defense for Human Rights and Democracy is calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria, the NNPCL, the Rivers State government, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), and all relevant agencies to as a matter of urgency, quickly respond to stop, remediate, restore the environment and pay adequate compensation to the affected communities or face several protests and legal action”, he said.
As at the time of filing this report, the NNPCL, NOSDRA and the security agencies were yet to issue any statement concerning the inferno, neither is there any move to quench the raging fire.
