Amnesty, CSOs Alert On Oil Leaks, Gas Flares In Niger Delta

A coalition of Civil Society Organisations and Amnesty International have alert the federal and state governments on imminent humanitarian crisis in the Niger Delta region if urgent action is not taken.

Participants at the fifth Niger Delta Alternative Convergence who met in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State at the weekend expressed concern over several oil wells abandoned during the divestment regimes of the IOCs, which are currently emitting spills and threatening the communities.

They recalled some devastating cases of the abandoned wells in Otuabagi and the 2007 eruption of the SPDC Ibibio-1 well at Ikot Ada Udo common in Ikot Abasi local local area of Akwa Ibom State.

Bille community in Rivers State, according to the resource persons, faces danger with unrestrained leaks from abandoned wells threatening the rural dwellers with massive impacts on the ecosystems.

Amnesty International frowned at the neglect and has concluded plans to launch probe into the problem with a visit to the Bille community.

Disclosing this at the forum, the Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, Mr. Isa Sanusi, said the problem had become more worrisome with lack of actionable plans by concerned authorities, leaving the population and the ecosystems at the risk of being decimated by the scourge

Mr. Nnimmo Bassey, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) in collaboration with frontline civil society organisations, labour and union representatives, sociocultural institutions, community leaders, researchers, environmental professionals, youth and women groups, and other critical stakeholders from across the Niger Delta region, canvased for strong resistance by the locals if the federal government could not muster enough political will to tackle the menace.

The communique at the end of the summit explained that “the convergence served as a pan-Niger Delta multi-stakeholder platform for policy dialogue, critical reflection, knowledge exchange, and collective action on the long-standing ecological, socio-economic, and public health consequences associated with oil and gas extraction in the region.”

It highlighted the urgent need for enforceable remediation frameworks, transparent decommissioning processes, independent environmental assessments, and community-centred approaches to environmental governance and resource accountability.