Rotimi Williams, Emmanuel Obe, jibola Oyekunle and Toyin Obadina
IN what looked like a play back of the 1988 toxic dump saga in Koko, Edo State, the police have discovered some substances suspected to be toxic waste dumped in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
At least, eight persons are in coma, receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the ancient town after inhaling the poisonous gas emanating from the toxin.
A number of other persons, who had raced to the scene of the bizarre discovery, were said to have slumped after the other, as they began to vomit when it became increasingly difficult for them to breathe after inhaling a dose of the toxin.
The police have arrested the driver of one of the vehicles used in conveying the deadly chemical to Ibadan, while the other suspects, including an importer, are still on the run. The police are still hunting for them.
The discovery of the toxic waste has sent jitters down the spines of residents of the city, especially Onipepeye, in Agugu, a suburb of Ibadan, where the dangerous chemical was found.
The site is about a kilometre from the ever busy Iwo Road Bridge, off Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The location of the dump became a spectacle last Sunday shortly after a team of policemen stumbled on the toxin contained in 20 drums.
However, the curiosity of the people soon turned sour when eight of them became unconscious after breathing in the effusion from the toxin.
Hordes of other persons, who had converged on the spot to have a look at the chemicals, scampered into safety, as the victims gasped for breath and slumped one after the other and started vomitting.
A few residents of the area, who could muster enough courage, quickly came to the aid of the victims by taking them to private hospitals nearby.
They were later transferred to the State Hospital, Adeoyo, for proper medical attention.
They were also moved away to an undisclosed hospital, to escape the prying eyes of curious public.
The victims were identified as: Alice Olubowale; Solome Ikwuegbu; Risikatu Lateef; Dorcas Bello; Mofoyeke Ajao; Omowumi Gbadamosi; Comfort Bello and Wosilat Latifu.
At the site of the dump, there were different versions about the origin of the suspected toxic substance.
One version said that the drums containing the substance had been brought by some people for domestic use. And in the process of opening them, one of the drums exploded and released dark fumes that choked the people around the area, making breathing difficult.
Another version said that the drums were brought in from an unknown place to be emptied at the point where they were dumped.
But in the process of opening them, the drums exploded, releasing the poisonous gas.
A witness, Mrs. Iyabode Idowu, confirmed Sunday Punch findings that the gas caused many people around the area to slump and throw up.
Many others, she added, became very weak, particularly around the Agbala Itura CAC Church and Celestial Church of Christ in Idiape area.
Idowu also said that the gas also affected farmlands around the area, destroying vegetables, pawpaw and other crops planted in the vicinity.
She said that the matter was promptly reported to the police at the Agugu Police Station, which transferred it to the command headquarters for further action.
Security sources, however, told Sunday Punch that the dangerous consignment was conveyed in a container to Agugu around 7pm by a truck accompanied by a car from Lagos State.
The drivers of the vehicles later zoomed off after discharging the chemical, leaving no traces of their whereabouts.
Believing that the hose behind the toxic dump could still be hibernating within the neighbourhood, the police quickly cordoned off the area.
But as at 8.15pm when Sunday Punch went to press on Saturday, the police were still on the trail of the other suspects, who dumped the toxin at the site.
Whereas the state government evacuated the drums containing the toxin from the site on Tuesday, yet, there were traces of the dangerous chemical on the ground.
Our correspondents, who were at the site of the dump on Tuesday and Wednesday, observed that the pervasive odour of the toxin could be felt about a kilometre away from the dumpsite.
The side-effect of the chemical on human health was also apparent as it made breathing difficult and caused skin irritation to people who were exposed to the chemical.
Most residents of the area, who were approached by Sunday Punch for their comments on the incident, declined to speak, for fears that security operatives could invite them for interrogation.
However, a couple of them, who volunteered to speak on the condition of anonymity, claimed that they became aware of the toxin after the police had alerted the state government on the discovery.
It was learnt that the government deployed some officials on Monday to scout for a safe location where the toxin could be buried
Though, it could not be ascertained at press time if the government carried out any forensic test on the soil where the toxin was found.
But it was observed at the site that the toxin had triggered a chain of chemical reactions as brown fumes dotted the whole area.
The State Police Command Commissioner, Mr. Moses Anegbode, inspected the site an hour after he was briefed by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Agugu Police Station, Mr., Chuhwudi Daniels.
The CP led other officers to carry out a house-to-house search for those behind the dumping of the toxin as well as the victims, who were reportedly on admission in private hospitals.
After the search, Anegbode alerted the State Governor, Senator Rasheed Ladoja and the Inspector General of Police on the findings.
The government, consequently, directed that the victims should be transferred to another hospital, ostensibly to remove them from the prying eyes of the public.
Sources said that the contract for the deal to dump the toxin in Ibadan was allegedly awarded to a businessman based in the metropolis. He was said to be under a strict security watch.
The police were also investigating some officials of the state government for allegedly colluding with the contractor to dump the toxin in Ibadan.
According to sources, the state police command dispatched a team of detectives to Lagos as it spread its dragnets in a bid to bring the culprits to book.
A source said the command was keen on getting to the root of the matter because those behind the toxic dump could have more consignments to be moved into the city and/or other towns.
The state Police Commissioner confirmed the discovery of the dump, stressing that his command had made an appreciable progress in investigating the matter.
Describing the incident as sad, he noted: “The police would be alive to their responsibilities at ensuring that the citizens of the country are safe.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Femi Adedeji, stated that for a long time, the police and environmental agency in the state had put everything in place to avert “this kind of thing. We’ve been dealing with a lot of things. To have a toxic waste in your backyard is a serious matter. So, we are on the trail of the brains behind the dump.”
On the victims, he said: “There are eight of them. They were unconscious for sometime when they were rushed to the hospital.
“Our initial concern was to take the victims to the hospital to see that they are saved, and then begin to ask questions on how this thing came into being; who and who could be responsible. As you are aware, the state government has waded into the matter; it has evacuated the drums,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police have confirmed the arrest of the driver of the vehicle used for the operation.
The authorities of the Ibadan Waste Management Authority (IBWMA) on Friday, said it had cleared and buried the substance.
The state police command while confirming the arrest of the suspect, declined further details on the development because of ongoing investigations into the incident.
The General Manager, IBWMA, Mr. Oluwaseye Laoye, told Sunday Punch on Friday that the substance was expired chlorine, and that his agency had since cleared and buried it at a dump site, which he refused to disclose.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kayode Afolabi and his Environment counterpart, Alhaji Azeez Ashiru, were not at their desks when Sunday Punch called at 10am and 1.30pm on Friday.
The health commissioner's GSM was switched off all the times that it was called.
The Press Officer to the health commissioner, Mr. Lekan Kolade, said the matter was being handled by the Ministry of Environment.
Sunday Punch learnt that the evacuation of the toxic waste was at the instance of the environment commissioner, who reportedly visited the site for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation on Wednesday.
The commissioner, it was further gathered, had directed his officials to do a soil and water test of the area to determine the extent of contamination as a recondition for further tests.
It would be recalled that May 1988 when an unidentified Italian company, represented by its agent, Mr. Gianfranco Raffeielli, dumped 20 extremely poisonous chemicals at the part twon of Koko in the then Bendel State of Nigeria.
The toxin cargo consisted of poisonous wates such as radioactive susbstance, methy/melamine wastes’ polyvrethanes, ethylacetate, polycholorobipheny (PCBS), waste products of x-ray manufacture, highly inflammable substance, ions acids, corrosive and toxic elements and other harmful materials.
Chief Sunday Nana, the owner of the land on which toxic waste was dumped, was said to have had traces of the radio-active waste in his system before his death shortly after the incident.
The dumping generated a lot of controversy and the Federal Government had to force the Italian government to evacuate the wastes.
Government also wanted two billion dolars as damages in respect of the havoc caused by the celebrated toxic waste dump in Koko.
Toxic waste is waste material, often in chemical form, that can cause death or injury to living creatures.
It, usually, is the product of industry or commerce, but comes also from residential use, agriculture, the military, medical facilities, radioactive sources, and light industry, such as dry cleaning establishments.
The term is often used interchangeably with "hazardous waste," or discarded material that can pose a long-term risk to health or environment. Toxics can be released into air, water, or land.
Toxic waste treatment and control has proved to be expensive and time-consuming with more resources spent on court battles than on actual cleanup.
The disposal of toxic wastes is also a topic of international concern. In 1989, some 50 countries signed a treaty aimed at regulating the international shipment of toxic wastes.
In some cases such wastes are shipped to developing countries for cheap disposal without the informed consent of their governments.
The often substandard shipping, storage, and treatment methods endanger human health and the health of the environment.
SUNDAY PUNCH, May 08, 2005
quote: The General Manager, IBWMA, Mr. Oluwaseye Laoye, told Sunday Punch on Friday that the substance was expired chlorine, and that his agency had since cleared and buried it at a dump site, which he refused to disclose.
Only in Nigeria could the government bury toxic waste insted of disposing of it properly. The metal drums will rust and corrode due to H2O and chlorine attack. They will eventually leack and all the (radioactive?)poisonous chlorine would be washed into the soil and drinking water of Ibadan people. Well I guess out of sight is out of mind.
___________________ Biafra is inevitable.Illegitimis nil carborundum. Posts: 760 | From: europe | Registered: Jan 2005
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THREE years after Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was accused of burying substances suspected to be toxic wastes in a virgin land in a community in Delta State, a controversy over the matter has flared up.
Shell yesterday broke its three-year silence when it denied burying toxic wastes in the community, Igbeku Village in Amukpe, Sapele Local Government Area.
But an investigation into the matter recently uncovered pits where wastes were buried in the community.
The Amukpe community claimed in 2002 that the firm buried toxic wastes in eight pits in the community. Three of the pits were said to be in a Shell-acquired land in the community.
Shell's Manager, Government and Public Relations, Western Division, Chief Charles Akeni, told journalists in Warri yesterday that SPDC had "at no time buried any spill material" at Amukpe.
But, a community source told The Guardian that a spillage occurred in a Shell pipeline in Igbeku-Amukpe community in 2002. The spillage was said to have occurred on "Shell's right of way". The contract to clean up the spill was allegedly awarded to a Shell contractor who instead of evacuating the wastes to an SPDC-approved site, buried them in the area.
Three pits were allegedly dug in Shell's right of way, while five of others were dug in the community's "virgin land".
The community, it was learnt, discovered last year when their economic crops were withering. They invited environmentalists who carried out soil test and discovered that the area had been polluted.
The Amukpe community reportedly wrote to Shell which failed to respond. They later reported to the Federal Ministry of Environment and their Delta State counterpart.
Shell, allegedly later visited the area alongside a private environmental consultant, Phosa International Venture, and took samples. The private consultant came out with its report within few months while Shell's report had not been forthcoming.
But three weeks ago, The Guardian learnt that a joint investigation (JIV) comprising Shell, federal and state environmental ministry officials, community representatives and other concerned bodies, was conducted. The Shell community liaison officer (CLO) in the area led the investigation.
During the joint investigation, eight pits where uncovered and it was agreed that the wastes should be evacuated from the pits.
The Amukpe community, it was learnt, then demanded N100 billion from Shell for the damage caused to the land as a result of the wastes. The community demanded another N2 billion to be paid yearly for 20 years, because according to them it would take a long time before the pollution of their land would clear off.
Toxic chemicals dumped in food processing community May 17, 2005
Dangerous Toxic and hazardous materials were dumped in a food processing community in Oyo State of Nigeria, causing harm to the local people and the environment.
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Nine hospitalized after inhaling polluted air * Processed Garri contaminated * Surrounding Vegetation withered * Fish ponds contaminated * Community alleges cover-up, seeks compensation
INTRODUCTION It was a sunny afternoon on April 26th, 2005 and residents of Onipepeye, in Ibadan North East local government Area of Oyo State, South West Nigeria, were mechanically going about their major business of cassava processing. The community is a huge factory where cassava is processed into gari, elubo, or starch all popular foodstuffs savoured across the West African sub-region.
The industrious community of about four thousand people mostly women with their children helping with one assignment or the other, never imagine the shock that was to come. Suddenly they saw back air enveloping the whole community. The air then became chocking, resulting to difficulty in breathing. In a twinkle, vomiting, weakening of the bones and nerves, exhaustion, fits of unconsciousness, among others, were the first hint that something had gone terribly wrong.
Motorists abandoned their vehicles on the busy highway and took to their heels. There was confusion. Some of the locals thought there was war and that Ibadan had been bombed. Helpless women and children, aged men and young men all scampered for safety. Those who found the strength to rise on their feet tried to revive those they could but nine people were not very lucky, they have inhaled too much of the poisoned air and were just on the verge of death and had to be rushed to the hospital.
The residents of Onipepeye, near the Old Ife Road bridge axis of the ever busy Lagos –Ibadan expressway, never knew that they had been playing host to dangerous chemicals compressed in a gas cylinder until that afternoon when the content escaped into the atmosphere after it was welded open by people suspected to be planning to refurbished them.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF THE TOXIC WASTE DUMP Two weeks after the incident, first time visitor to Onipepeye is welcomed by the sight of the devastating effects of the dangerous gas on the vegetation and the aquatic life. The effects include long stretch of withered pawpaw plants and palm trees, shrunken plantain plants and polluted fish ponds. Worse still, the residents suffered huge economic loss; cassava in various stages of being processed changed to a pale brownish colour and had to be thrown away.
Strangely though, the populace in spite of their losses would rather keep sealed lips for fear of intimidation and arrest by authorities. The Environment Minister, Colonel Bala Mande (rtd) had dismissed the incident saying “the substance was not toxic but chlorine gas dumped by unknown persons”.
But a prominent elder in the community who wished anonymity expressed displeasure with the way the incident was been handled by the State and federal government. He alleged that there were sinister plans by people in high positions to cover up the incident. The community leader said residents have been told not to grant interviews on the incident. He said, “since we are poor and local people we don’t want to say anything that would make the government and the security agents to move against us. We are afraid. The mere sight of police officers makes people jitter. We don’t think it is only chlorine, we suspect there is also ammonia in those cylinders”
He narrated that on the day of the incident around a quarter to four o clock in the evening, his discussion with a couple of others was disrupted when they saw a very thick, black smoke emanating from the bush far beyond were they were.
“We ignored the smoke, after a few seconds we discovered we couldn’t breathe, our chest became heavy, we soon slumped to the ground, and every one else complained about the same thing”, he said.
“Motorists and pedestrian on the streets soon abandoned their vehicles and ran for safety. It was like a war, old women and children fell down, and our body systems were destabilized. Soon after, some of us mustered strength and began to revive others who had fallen down. We poured water on them and when we saw that it was not working, we resorted to palm oil, I drank a full bottle of palm oil, and others who were in bad shape were rushed to the hospital”, he narrated.
“When we got to the scene, we saw the vegetation destroyed, we saw the cylinders, the burner and all the instruments used, we phoned the commissioner who got in touch with the Solid waste department of the Oyo state government and together with the Police, and they cleared the cylinders.”
“For the next two days, we could not work. We are a very big lot, about 2,790 people all have their source of livelihood on this trade, including part-time workers, it was really very bad”, the source who is also a member of the workforce added.
Among the victims rushed to the State Hospital in Adeoyo were a pregnant woman and a 70 year old woman, Dorcas Bello. A source who displayed a hospital form, (State Hospital, Adeoyo) belonging to the latter, lamented that what the government did was only to refer victims to the hospital , but all the cost of the treatment were borne by the victims and there families.
The questions bothering residents of Onipepeye remain who own the toxic cylinders? What was the strange gas that burnt the vegetation and nearly wiped out the community?
Twenty two year old Oluwasegun Opeyemi disclosed that the cylinders were brought in a few days before the incident. The residents ignored them believing they were materials of RATCON Nigeria limited , a construction firm rehabilitating the Lagos – Ibadan expressway.
“it was days later when attempt was being made to force it open that it exploded, we noticed that everywhere changed colour, the ground turned yellow, everything was destroyed even to the site of Elege where the people processed cassava”, he said.
ERA INVESTIGATIONS AND FINDINGS Independent investigations conducted by ERA revealed that the cylinders were supposed expended chlorine gas cylinders of the Oyo State Water Corporation. The cylinders were clearly marked “ toxic gas”, “Corrosive gas” “Pollutants” “compressed chlorine,” very dangerous if allowed to get out of the cylinder”. It was learnt that the system through which the gas is used to chlorinate water is fully automated and the content never allowed to escape into the atmosphere.
A senior government source told ERA that after the content of the cylinder had been used they were usually sent back to its manufacturers in Germany to be refilled. “It is never meant to be ripped open,” he said.
In the case of the Onipepeye incident the cylinders were returned to the contractor for them to be returned to Germany.
One of the men who helped rescued the victims, and did not want to be quoted, lamented the porous security system, saying that the men who brought the toxic cylinders to be dumped in the community passed through several police check-points in the area, but they were never apprehended or questioned about what they were conveying.
“The populace must be vigilant, since we can no longer rely on the government for safety of lives and property, the onus is on us to guard our own interests including the environment", he counselled.
Intriguingly, various authorities rebuffed inquiries, stating that they have been ordered not to talk. No one was ready to explain what the set of dangerous cylinders which were supposed to be on their way to Germany were doing in the local community. None of the government officials approached was also ready to provide information about the contractor that supplied the cylinders.
At the Federal Ministry of Environment office in Ibadan, an official said: “We have been ordered not to talk on this issue. I can only speak if you have a written permission from Abuja”.
ERA met similar brick wall at the Oyo State Environment Ministry. But an official from the Environment Unit of the Ibadan North East Local Government confirmed the magnitude of the explosion. She said though the state government eventually cleared and buried the cylinders, the incident had “a huge effect, we learnt people were slumping and slumping”.
Asked by the ERA team whether the content of the cylinder had been scientifically proven to be chlorine, a source at the state environment ministry said the incident was not reported on time. “But if it was reported on time we don’t have gas masks so we can’t face something we know is dangerous. We also don’t want to die,” he added. The source disclosed that the state government has approached the Federal Ministry of Environment on the need for a post-impact assessment.
Visits to the State Hospitals in Yemetu and Ring road in Ibadan brought a dramatic twist as there were no official records of the victims of the toxic incidence.
COMMUNITY PEOPLE DEMAND COMPENSATION However, residents of Onipepeye community want to be compensated. They are clamoring for compensation for the physical and psychological loss incurred as well as the arrest and prosecution of those responsible. Besides, they urged the appropriate authorities to scientifically test the soil and water to ascertain the level of contamination.
That a toxic substance, whether chlorine or something more deadly, was dumped in Onipepeye is no longer in dispute, what has become disheartening is its rude intrusion into the physical and economic lives of innocent citizens and Government’s relaxed and nonchalant treatment of the whole issue.
ERA DEMANDS:
* Comprehensive probe of the incident to ascertain the nature of the toxic gas, * Arrest and prosecution of the persons responsible for the mishandling of the gas cylinders * Post impact assessment at the polluted site to determine the level of contamination of the air , water and the soil, * Remediation of the polluted eco-systems, and * Compensation for victims of the incident.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Send letters the Oyo State Government demanding proper investigation into the whole toxic waste saga. 2. Send letters to the Oyo and Federal Ministries of Environment demanding a Post impact assessment at the polluted site to determine the level of contamination. 3. Send letters to the Oyo State Government demanding adequate compensation for victims of the toxic waste dump. 4. Send letters to your legislators requesting them to regard environmental issue as a critical part of their mandate and obligation to the people. 5. Send copies of your letters to newspaper editors, local and international environmental groups.
Ozoro community is an oil producing community. It houses the headquarters of Isoko North Local Government Area, Ozoro and is divided into five quarters namely, Erovie, Uroto, Urude, Oruamudhu and Etevie quarters. The quarters are connected by earth roads. Ozoro is about 30 minutes drive from Warri and the main occupation of the people is fishing and subsistence agriculture.
Shell operates in this locality and has up to 28 oil wells here.
Shells TOXIC WASTE IN OZORO
Over 1,000,000 litres of chemicals (suspected to be toxic waste) were ferried in 40 tanks and injected into a 17,000 ft deep dry well at location 3, Ibobush of Erovie quarters in Isoko oil field by Shell through their agent, Schlumberger Dowell.
Local monitors report that the wastes were dumped in the dead of the night. Precisely, the heinous act was perpetrated between 1.00 and 3.00 a.m. from 1st to 5th of July 1999.
According to the national president of the Isoko Youth Movement, Mr. Fred Obe, we became suspicious of Shells intentions because Shell has nothing to do with dry wells. Moreover, Shell carried out the odd activities at ungodly hours of the night and this reinforced our suspicion.
Isoko Youth Movement has been in the struggle for the right to a sustainable environment for long and we will always fight for the right of the people.
SHELL DOES NOT BELIEVE IN EMPTY SHELLS
Schlumberger Dowell is suspected to have moved into the site hoping to extract oil. They later sent a message to SPDC that the well was dry and there was no need for drillers. So, in place of drillers, 40 tanks were moved into site and the chemical injected into dry well 3 in Erovie quarters, Ibo bush in Isoko deep oil field. The people who did the dumping wore protective face masks, hand gloves and safety jackets in order to prevent contamination.
NATURE OF THE TOXIC WASTE
State officials (including the Delta State Commissioner for Health) who visited the site invited Shell Petroleum Development Company SPDC to explain what the chemicals are all about and the likely effect it poses on the health of the community members.
According to the youth president, The Isoko youths are making arrangements to carry out an independent test through FEPA to ascertain the nature and composition of the toxic chemicals if the government and SPDC facilitate an enabling platform for such test.
TENSION ARISES IN THE COMMUNITY OVER FEAR OF THE EFFECTS FROM TOXIC WASTE.
Tension has arisen in Ozoro community for fear of likely effects on the health of the community members as the people suspect that dump had already affected their farmland, fish ponds and crops. Strange health conditions were also reported.
Mr. Omas, a motorcyclist, moaned, thousands of our community members live in fear, what is going to be our fate? I hope it will not be like the Koko incident which took place in the eighties?
Mike Ebiri noted complained that since there is hydrological link between the waste under grounds and our drinking wells, in no distant time, our drinking water will be contaminated as well.
MANY COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE BEEN RELOCATED
According to the Isoko youth president, thousands of people have relocated, thereby causing business dislocations which has brought about untold hardship to members of the community. People are afraid of contamination. The people have a justifiable reason for relocating.
HOW HAS SHELL RESPONDED?
Shell does not want to give out any information, rather theyve been trying to bluff it out, a youth maintained.
According to the youth president, when the senior supervisor on the site was confronted by the community about the content of the chemical composition, the supervisor (Mr. Victor) promised that he would get to his superior and get back to inform the community. The people found to their chagrin some days later that Mr. Victor was no where to be found and the high power injector and compressor used to inject the chemical into the well were dismantled and taken out of site by Shell.
RESPONSE FROM THE COMMUNITY
The people of Ozoro community have called for independent and proper tests to determine the nature of wastes dumped into the bowels of their ground.
They also demand an immediate evacuation of the chemicals by Shell. They are also calling for restitution: Shell must bring back our land to the state it was beforeShell must bring back our ecosystem back to its former state.
SHELLS KIDNAP HOAX
A youth leader, Mr. Omas, links Shells sudden disappearance from the location 3 Isoko oil field to their unwillingness to respond to their request for an explanation on the nature of the chemical substances injected into the well.
He added, Shell only tried to blackmail the Isoko youths in a story reported in one of the newspapers. The story reported that the youths kidnapped 64 oil workers. The youths did not kidnap the workers, we only stopped them from working by closing down the flow station in order to stop their in-human activities.
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Fire disaster looms in Delta from fresh oil spill
By Emma Arubi Posted to the Web: Thursday, July 28, 2005
WARRI — ANOTHER fire disaster resulting from oil spill looms in Otu-Jeremi, headquarters of Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State following a spill from a trunk line belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company (West) (SPDC) over the weekend.
Already, thousands of youths from the neighbouring communities are busy scooping fuel from the ruptured pipeline and making brisk business as a 20-litre jerry can of petrol was selling for as low as N200 when Vanguard visited the site.
The spill which has covered an expansive land mass is believed to have started flowing into nearby rivers and creeks thus causing more damage to farm land and aquatic life even as it poses health hazard to the people.
A youth engaged in the scooping business expressed fear that it might result in fire outbreak but was unwilling to leave the scene because of the quick money being made from the burst pipeline.
SPDC in a statement accused youths of the community of preventing them from clamping the ruptured portion of the pipeline to curtail the spill while the community accused SPDC of shirking their responsibility by not liaising with the community on the best way to solve the problem.
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Ughelli oil spillage:40 communities, Shell in collision course
Posted to the Web: Sunday, August 14, 2005
FOR more than 40 communities stretched across Ughelli South, Okpe and Burutu local governments of Delta State, life has not been the same in the past few weeks, following massive oil spillages from the facilities of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). It is as if the gods of the land are angry over the severe exploitation going on in the region and have staged a rebellion. But while officials of the multinational company blamed the entire affair on sabotage by the communities, the villagers say it is equipment failure and are demanding compensation, running into billions of naira from the oil company.
About five persons were said to have been hospitalized at Ughelli South local government by the council boss, Mr. Mathew Akporayen, as a result of the gaseous chemicals they allegedly inhaled. He named the affected communities in his area, as Otu-Jeremi, Ayagha, Erhuwaren, Agbowhiame, Oginibo, Okwagbe, Egbo-Ideh, Ihwreogu,Ophirigbala, Ogurukama,Okuama, Gbaregolor,Olota, Ekameta, Osusu-Urhie, Iwhrekan, Edhioge and Amasomo.
While the Ughelli communities are slugging it out with SPDC which shut down its flow station in the area to contain the spill, residents of Ugbokodo in Okpe local government who woke up, July 4, to see crude oil pumping directly on their farmlands, swamps and creeks with the entire area polluted were angry that the oil company is alleging sabotage on their part.
In Burutu local government, Utorogu, Matolo and Kigbodo communities were said to be most affected. SPDC’s external affairs manager (Western Division), Mr. Harriman Oyofo told Sunday Vanguard that investigations by the company showed that its equipment were tampered with by unknown persons and that efforts by the company to stop the spread were resisted by the youths.
The company official said the communities "under such circumstance would want the oil to spread and cover many areas so that they can make huge claims for compensation".
Chairman of Ughelli South, Mr. Akporayen pooh-poohed the allegation, saying that in the case of the spillage that occurred in his local government, SPDC officials were contacted but the company came with equipment that could not stop the leakage, forcing the oil to continue leaking. He said that it was many days after the incident that it finally clamped the affected area.
The damage in the local government was extensive. Sunday Vanguard visited Iwhrekan community where it was discovered that large expanse of farmlands and river were devastated. The tension in the community was palpable as the elders of the community had sent town criers round, announcing to their people not to strike matches or take any inflamable near the spill points. The mortal fear in this community and its environs is understandable because it harbours a gas plant which could explode at the slightest cause.
The people of Ugbokodo raised alarm penultimate week, that except the government intervened immediately, the community would be subjected to health hazards, plagues and untold death tolls arising from the spillage, they also said they were facing starvation as their entire stream and farmlands have been polluted. They complained in a July 17, letter to the general manager of the SPDC (West), signed by their spokesman, Captain W.E. Adugbo, Mr. Walter Augoye (secretary) and Mr. Tobore Adjisha (the community’s Olotu) that the oil firm was using soldiers to intimidate them, an allegation that Mr. Oyofo debunked, saying instead that it was when the Ugbokodo youths stopped the company’s workers from gaining access to the spillage point in the community to perform their job that security men had to escort the workers to the site.
Like the Ughelli South case, Ugbokodo people claimed that: "SPDC staff in the presence of their armed soldiers and policemen started the clamping of the pipes but as a result of their poor handling and inefficiency, they removed the clamp and the spill went out of hand and SPDC staff ran away and abandoned the site while the trunk line continue to flood the river and its environ resulting in flooding of the farmland , rivers and all the creeks".According to them, "the community is directly inhaling the carbon and chemical of the crude which is felt everywhere in the community resulting in sneezing, drowsiness and running of the nose and eyes. These effect will be continuous except SPDC intervenes promptly and maturely. It would be recalled that in 1972, Ugbokodo lost a man and his pregnant wife as a result of oil spillage".
Mr. Oyofo told this newspaper when contacted about the Ugbokodo complaint that the company intervened promptly and maturely as they requested, adding: "As I am talking to you now, we have clamped the place from where the spillage occurred. Our findings showed that our equipment was tampered with and that was what resulted in the spill".
Spokesman of Kiagbodo and Matolo communities, Mr. Edoh Henry asserted that the people have not been able get water to drink as their river was polluted. He said that aquatic life in the two communities had been destroyed. On the Ughelli spill, the SPDC said it was not true as reported by some media houses that there was immediate danger in the area as a result of the spillage. It said that after a peaceful negotiation with the affected host communities, the leaking points at the 16th Utorogu-UPS trunk line with a capacity of 10,000 bpd at Edjophe and Iwhrekan were excavated and clamped, while recovery of the spilled crude into fast tanks commenced immediately.
On Otu-Jeremi, it stated that excavation and repair works started after the Joint Investigation Team after the youths who disallowed the workers from gaining access to the spill site were engaged. "It is pertinent to note that the initial efforts in spill containment at Out-Jeremi were frustrated by some youths who wanted immediate employment and contract award for spill clean up. This was further compounded by a claim from the communities that a sacred Shrine was located near the spill site", a statement from the company said.
The Delta State House of Assembly intervened as soon as the matter was brought to the attention of the lawmakers by passing a resolution, calling on the oil company to clean up the spill in the affected communities and provide the affected people with relief materials.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. George Ugbomah, who visited some of the affected communities, however, called on the communities to be calm, saying that the government would ensure that a proper Joint Inspection Investigation (JIV) and clean up were carried out.
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Olomoro community alleges dumping of toxic waste by Shell
By Osaro Okhomina Posted to the Web: Thursday, October 20, 2005
BENIN CITY — Olomoro Community in Delta State led by renowned Enviromentalist, Dr.George Idodo-Umeh, yesterday raised an alarm over the spread of strange diseases in the area due to the illegal dumping of toxic waste in the River Areba by the Shell Producing and Developing Company (SPDC), alleging that over 50 persons were killed due to the consumption of fishes contaminated with heavy metals and other toxic chemicals.
The elders of the community, who were led to the Benin Office of Vanguard yesterday by Dr George Idodo-Umeh and armed with a survey conducted by him on the damage done to the river by the alleged deposition of liquid and solid waste, challenged the Federal and State Governments and the oil company to conduct a joint survey on the waste and come out with a control measure to save the lives of their people.
Speaking on behalf of the community, Dr Idodo-Umeh said the tests conducted by him on the existence of high concentration of heavy metals and other poisnous materials was done due to the increasing cases of deaths in the area, saying all efforts by the community to stop the dumping and call for reassesment of such waste by the Ministry of Enviroment failed to yield result.
According to him, "in recent past, the invalid water of our community have been subjected to ecological degradation as a result of enviromental pollution. It is also well known that the effect of pollution are detrimental to fisheries resources and other aquatic organisms.
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