Fresh oil spill occurs in Rivers

A fresh oil spill has occurred in Bodo City in Gokana Local Government Area (Ogoni) of Rivers State.

This is happening after multiple reported oil spills in Ogoniland.

It was gathered that the spill occurred on Thursday, July 4, around 12:45 am in the Sugi area of Bodo community due to equipment failure.

The Guardian reports that the location of the spill is very close to where multiple oil spills have occurred in recent times on the Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP) operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) Limited.

Confirming the incident, a community-based environmental advocacy group, the Eco Defence Alliance, said “yes, a fresh spill occurred,” adding that it has lost count of oil spill incidents in Bodo City.

Executive Director of the group, Damian Gbogbara, decried incessant spills in Ogoniland and wondered why relevant authorities have failed to proffer a permanent solution to mitigate the menace.

He said: “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 locations, among many others over the years.”

He wondered why the authorities have refused to proffer permanent solutions to the menace of crude oil spills in Bodo.

He said, “This is not funny to hear that Bodo is a community with the highest number of crude oil spills the world has ever recorded in human history.”

The coordinator warned that caution should be exercised by relevant authorities in their quest to find out the cause of the spill and subsequent closure of the leaked pipes to avoid any crisis in the community.

Gbogbara added: “Again, there is a need for transparency in the whole process, from constituting the JIV team to its 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 serve as evidence-based documents for possible litigation on the ecosystem destruction, and save the fragile Bodo, Ogoniland, and Niger Delta environment, especially with the ongoing clean-up exercise by the Bodo Mediation Initiative (BMI), besides 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 18, 2019, oil spill to date.”

Gbogbara said 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.

He warned against any attempt to manipulate the JIV process and its outcome.

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