SEVENTEEN months after the
devastating Shell Nigeria Exploration
Production Company, SNEPCo crude oil spillage
from its Bonga Field in December, 2011, over
173 Itsekiri and Ijaw communities in Delta and Bayelsa States, affected by the spill, have cried
out that they were still suffering the adverse
effects of the spill. The Association of Named Itsekiri/Ijaw
Communities in Warri North, Warri South,
Burutu and Ekeremor Local Government Areas
in Delta and Bayelsa States, in a letter to the
Director General, National Emergency
Management Authority, NEMA, lamented that the people were dying of hunger and effects of
harmful dispersant used by SNEPCo to
disperse oil spill on the sea surface. The communities, with a population of over
850,000, in the letter by the Chairman/
Coordinator, Mr. Francis Monday and two
others, called on NEMA and governments of
Delta and Bayelsa States to come to the aid of
the people with relief materials, especially food and drugs. They also appealed for aid from the
International Red Cross, National Oil Spill
Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA,
United Nations, non-governmental
organisations and the international community,
pending when the National Assembly, government authorities and/or regulatory
agencies in Nigeria, which intervened in the
matter, would complete their job. The communities alleged that SNPECo had not
properly cleaned up the pollutants used to
disperse the spill till date, consequently,
contaminating their fishing areas, as well as
depriving them of their major source of
livelihood, which is fishing. According to them, the incident has “caused
psychological trauma, loss of daily income and
impacted on the health of some of our people. “The management of SNEPCo only succeeded
in supplying wrong and/or doctored
information to the general public without any
investigation jointly conducted by the
regulatory and security agencies as well as
SNEPCo and their communities’ representatives.”
devastating Shell Nigeria Exploration
Production Company, SNEPCo crude oil spillage
from its Bonga Field in December, 2011, over
173 Itsekiri and Ijaw communities in Delta and Bayelsa States, affected by the spill, have cried
out that they were still suffering the adverse
effects of the spill. The Association of Named Itsekiri/Ijaw
Communities in Warri North, Warri South,
Burutu and Ekeremor Local Government Areas
in Delta and Bayelsa States, in a letter to the
Director General, National Emergency
Management Authority, NEMA, lamented that the people were dying of hunger and effects of
harmful dispersant used by SNEPCo to
disperse oil spill on the sea surface. The communities, with a population of over
850,000, in the letter by the Chairman/
Coordinator, Mr. Francis Monday and two
others, called on NEMA and governments of
Delta and Bayelsa States to come to the aid of
the people with relief materials, especially food and drugs. They also appealed for aid from the
International Red Cross, National Oil Spill
Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA,
United Nations, non-governmental
organisations and the international community,
pending when the National Assembly, government authorities and/or regulatory
agencies in Nigeria, which intervened in the
matter, would complete their job. The communities alleged that SNPECo had not
properly cleaned up the pollutants used to
disperse the spill till date, consequently,
contaminating their fishing areas, as well as
depriving them of their major source of
livelihood, which is fishing. According to them, the incident has “caused
psychological trauma, loss of daily income and
impacted on the health of some of our people. “The management of SNEPCo only succeeded
in supplying wrong and/or doctored
information to the general public without any
investigation jointly conducted by the
regulatory and security agencies as well as
SNEPCo and their communities’ representatives.”
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