A fresh oil spill has been reported at the K-Dere community in the Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
This latest spill, which occurred from a pipeline suspected to be operated by NNPC Ltd., is coming barely three months after a similar spill occurred in the same community from the Trans Niger Pipeline operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited.
The incident reportedly happened five days ago, on January 3, 2024, devastating the environment and people in the area.
The fresh oil spill on the NNPC Ltd pipeline right of way pumping crude to the Port Harcourt Refinery,
for the test run of the refinery.
The spokesperson of the K-Dere Steering Committee, Mr Norteh Miebari, while confirming the incident, alleged a cover-up by the management of NNPC Ltd., lamenting that the health of people was at stake.
He revealed that the community woke up on January 3 to witness the oil spills and accused the operator of using cement to cover up the leak point.
He said, “Up until this moment, nothing has been done at the spill site. A pipeline owned by a subsidiary of NNPC Ltd.
We call on the federal government, which owns the pipeline, to come to the aid of the community, as we will resist all the dirty approaches being employed by the company because pouring cement on the pipe without clamping the pipe is a timebomb that can lead to explosion anytime.”
Also in his reaction, the President of Ogoni Oil Bearing Communities, Chief Donald Gberesu, decried the neglect of the people by IOCs, alleging that the spill was caused by equipment failure.
Gberesu warned that the lukewarm approach by the operator was a time bomb.
“When I got to K-Dere, I saw the attempt by NNPC Ltd. to pour concrete on liquid. Sadly, the people of K-Dere and other oil-bearing communities keep suffering this degree of negligence by multinationals, particularly this one that is even owned by NNPC.
“The public should impress on this company to come to the aid of the people of K-Dere and aid us in this situation. I see it as a deliberate attempt to push us to extinction, he stated.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Mr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, has called on the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, to immediately carry out a joint investigation (JIV) on the facility to determine the cause of the spill.
He charged NOSDRA to invoke relevant sections of the Petroleum Industry Act in the circumstances, which include payment of adequate compensation to the community if it is confirmed the spills were caused by equipment failure and cleaning up the spill site.
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