In the Gokana local government area of Rivers State, a recent crude oil spill has emerged in Bodo City. This spill resulted from a leakage originating from the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), which is operated by the multinational oil corporation, Shell.
The locals discovered the spill in the Sugi area two days after it happened on Sunday. Strikingly, this marks the sixth oil spill incident to transpire in the past year in the same area, all attributed to the same pipeline.
Recalling that just in August of the previous year (2022), Bodo City experienced a total of five spills, the non-governmental organization Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) announced its intention to collaborate with the community leadership and residents to achieve recognition in the Guinness World Records as the community with the highest number of crude oil spills worldwide.
In response to this recent occurrence, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, the Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, revealed that their volunteers reported that the latest spill was allegedly caused by an equipment malfunction.
Fyneface conveyed that the organization has lost count of the oil spill reports originating from Bodo City due to their frequent incidence. He emphasized that their call for documenting the spills in the community is aimed at drawing Guinness World Record attention to their plight. This approach also seeks to publicly identify and shame the polluters, acting as a deterrent for both local and multinational oil companies operating within the Niger Delta region.
Additionally, the YEAC-Nigeria leader highlighted that maintaining such records will assist in holding international oil companies (IOCs) accountable for their role in damaging the nation’s ecosystem. This step is particularly important for the vulnerable Bodo, Ogoni, and Niger Delta communities, especially considering the ongoing cleanup efforts by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
Fyneface urged the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to promptly conduct a joint investigation visit (JIV) to the spill site in Bodo City, involving Shell and other stakeholders. He further advised NOSDRA not to delay the visit, citing the agency’s reluctance to conduct a JIV for the June 18, 2023, crude oil spill in the Eteo Community of Eleme local government area of the State up to the present time.
