Rivers community protests against oil spillage, seeks compensation

Hundreds of Ogale Eleme residents in Eleme Local Government Area area of Rivers State rose in anger to protest against environmental pollution caused by oil spillages.

The oil spillages, which the community alleged came from Shell oil manifolds located in the area, have subjected them to drinking water contaminated with benzin. They also claimed that the oil spill has destroyed their economic trees and farm crops.

The anger of the residents came to a boiling point last Thursday when hundreds of them occupied Shell’s oil manifold located in the area.

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The protesters made up of men, women and youths all adorned in black attire occupied Shell facilities in Ogale for more than 10 hours thereby making movement into the facility difficult.

They expressed concern that the oil spillage recorded in the community contaminated their sources of drinking water and exposed them to several illnesses such as cancer, respiratory diseases and skin rashes.

On 3rd February 2025 a major crude oil spill from Shell manifold occurred in the community. The February incident was said to be second in the series of spillages that occurred in the area in less than one year.

rivers community protests against oil spillage, seeks compensation

The manifold spill, which was said to have filled the underground pits, started flowing freely to the pipeline right of way that separated Lot-1 of the Ogoni cleanup project of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) of the Federal Ministry of Environment in Ogale.

The Executive Director of Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene who visited the scene of the incident said the residents suspected that the spill occurred from the manifold owned and operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

The incident turned violent when the Eleme Youth president allegedly invaded  spill site with youths who confiscated  trucks being used to evacuate the spilled crude oil, beating up some of the drivers whose trucks were already seized and parked at the Eleme Council Secretariat.

Mr. Gift Gongogo Nene, one of the truck drivers that came to evacuate the spill, was stabbed on the head.

The protest affected economic activities in the community as residents shut down their shops and business premises for more than 10 hours.

An environmental right activist, Celestine Akpobari, who spoke on behalf of the protesters said the Ogale people were in solidarity with their traditional ruler, Chief Bebe Ukpabi who he said was in London court with Shell with other human rights communities over issues concerning the pollution of their environment.

Akpobari said that the community has taken Shell to court in the UK over the pollution and contamination of their environment, especially their only source of drinking water.

He said the residents have recorded several cases of strange illnesses and death as a result of drinking water contaminated with benzin.

“So they are here to say enough is enough that they have suffered so much that justice should be served. If you go through the community, shops did not  open today , nobody went to the farm, they said that they will be here from morning till night in solidarity with their king,” he said.

He said: “Their demand is that Shell should pay adequate compensation for loss of livelihood and damage caused here. If you look at the UNEP report on Ogoni it was observed that Ogale was affected by environmental pollution. There was benzin a cancer causing chemical that was found in the community’s source of drinking water”

“Just randomly enter any compound and you will see rashes on the skin of residents. I don’t know how they survive here. In fact, anytime I come to this place, I get a very serious headache because of the presence of heavy hydrocarbons in the air. So, things are terribly bad here,” he said.

He called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in Ogale Eleme and relocate residents affected by the pollution, clean up the environment and restore its natural habitat.

Also speaking, the Ogale youth President, Comrade Noble Obari, said the  indigenes and non indigenes of Ogale have set aside their businesses to vent their voices that they have suffered a lot because of oil exploration, which has polluted their environment.

He said: “This is a big show of solidarity to tell the whole world that Ogale people have suffered so much at the hands of oil exploration companies that have polluted their environment. Our people are dying of strange illnesses. We are suffering spillages on a monthly basis. The last one was just last week in this same facility that we are standing in.”

“Our demand is that compensation should be paid to the people of Ogale. We want an adequate health record of the entire Ogale people. Every resident of Ogale must go for a health check to ascertain their state of health. They should give us clean water and clean up our environment so that our people can go back to their farms,” he said.

The Councillor representing Ogale Ward 3 in Eleme Local Government Area, Hon. Precious Ngochigo, said he is in solidarity with the protesters over the oil spillage incidents as the community have suffered environmental degradation for years and have been neglected.

“Our crops no longer produce, things we plant no longer produce and as a result of that we are appealing to the world to come to our aid. Our people are dying in their numbers. Our people are eating and drinking poisonous food. We want the world to intervene in our situation,” he said.

For the Community Development Committee, Chairman, Pastor Monday Amadi Igwe, the protest afforded the residents the opportunity to express their grievances over the pollution of their community.

“We are predominantly farmers but we cannot go to farm anymore because our farmlands are severely polluted. Our economic trees are destroyed. We cannot fish in our river because the entire river is badly polluted.”

“Oil spill contamination affects our underground water and the fertility of our women. We want compensation paid to us for these contaminations,” he said.

President of Ogoni Peoples Assembly, Rev Probel Williams said the community through the protest has said no to the devastation of the Eleme environment.

He said that it’s cruel for an operating company to continue to destroy its environment.

“We say no to oil spills, injustice, we refuse to die. We cannot be destroyed by the blessing that God has given us. We cannot afford to die, so we in Ogale, Eleme are saying enough is enough,” she said.

Reacting, spokesperson for the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Michael Adande said: “Shell has a continuing commitment to Nigeria, its people and the economy. Where we operate, we bring jobs, support local supply chains and invest in the education and healthcare people rely on, as well as providing billions of dollars in income to the Nigerian government.

“We strongly believe in the merits of our case. Oil is being stolen on an industrial scale in the Niger Delta. This criminality is a major source of pollution and is the cause of the majority of spills in the Bille and Ogale claims.”

He further said: “The SPDC joint venture manages these challenges working closely with the Nigerian government, its government-owned partner NNPC Ltd, local communities and other key stakeholders using its expertise in spill prevention, response and clean-up. Regardless of the cause of a spill, SPDC cleans up the areas affected by spills from its facilities and in the event of an operational spill, SPDC compensates any affected people and communities.

“Leigh Day’s litigation does little to address the real problem in the Niger Delta: oil spills due to theft, illegal refining and sabotage, which cause the most environmental damage.”