After decades of unanswered complaints, Akwa Ibom communities learn to document oil pollution

Nearly seven decades after Shell abandoned oil wells in their communities, residents of two Akwa Ibom LGAs are learning to gather evidence of pollution and strengthen their demands for accountability after years of unanswered complaints.

Residents from some communities where oil was drilled and capped in Ikono and Ibiono Ibom Local Government Areas say decades of complaints about oil pollution from abandoned oil wells have yielded little action; thus, they are now learning how to document environmental damage and build evidence to demand accountability from oil companies and government regulators.

Residents said the training is an attempt to move beyond years of complaints about pollution linked to oil wells drilled and capped by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in the 1950s.

Nearly seven decades after the company reportedly abandoned the wells because they were commercially unviable, residents say crude oil continues to seep into farmlands and water bodies, destroying livelihoods and raising concerns about their safety.

Friday, John, the village council chairman of Ntan Mbat in Ibiono Ibom LGA, said residents had previously lacked the knowledge to respond to oil pollution incidents.

“When oil pollution occurs, when oil comes out from the ground, it is something we did not understand. This foundation came and enlightened us on what to do,” he said.

Mr John said the community would now organise to document and report incidents of pollution.

He said that crude oil was emerging from the ground in large quantities despite the absence of pipelines or recent drilling activities, making some locations unsafe for farming.

“There is no pipeline, nobody has drilled anything new there, but we still see oil come out from the ground and many of us are afraid to go to that place to farm. That is the difficulty we are going through,” he said.

He said the oil had been present in the community before he was born.

“That oil has been coming out from there for a long time before I was born. I am just 32 years old, but the oil has been coming out there before my birth,” he said.

According to him, the people who first explored for oil in the area were locally known as “Mbakara USA”. They reportedly built a large house in the community, lived there and planted markers identifying locations where they had discovered oil.

The latest concerns are part of a longstanding dispute over the environmental consequences of oil exploration in Ikono and Ibiono Ibom.

In September, PREMIUM TIMES reported that residents of the two local government areas had demanded urgent assessment, remediation and protection of abandoned oil wells and other ageing petroleum infrastructure, citing pollution, declining agricultural yields, damaged ecosystems and alleged illegal activities around the facilities.

At the time, residents told this newspaper that they had repeatedly complained to Shell and regulatory authorities without receiving satisfactory responses.

PREMIUM TIMES sighted a document dated 2002 and addressed to Shell’s Lands and Legal Department in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Titled “Environmental and Health Effects of Abandoned SPDC Exploration/Drilling Locations at Ikot Udo Enang and Catchment Sedimentary Basin (OML 12, 1958–2002)”, the document was submitted by the Executive Council of Ikot Udo Enang Village, Ediene Clan, alongside Uyo Afaha Nkan Village and the Engineering and Technical Services Committee of Ndiya Youth Progressive Union.

The document detailed the communities’ complaints about environmental and health effects allegedly linked to abandoned exploration and drilling sites and called for remediation.

The residents’ concerns also have a legal dimension.

HOMEF has called for enforcement of a 2013 Court of Appeal decision in Eteidung Raymond F. Obot and others v. Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited (CA/C/70/2011), which the organisation says allowed environmental claims dating from 2006 onward to proceed.

The organisation says outstanding issues relating to the abandoned Ikono 1 oil well, including environmental remediation and compensation, remain unresolved.

During Thursday’s training, residents described how the alleged pollution affected agriculture, fishing, water sources, and other aspects of community life.

Bassey Henry of Uyo Afaha Nkan Village, Ediene Clan in Ikono, said the impact was evident in declining crop yields, damaged economic trees and the disappearance of some animal species.

He said palm trees had stopped producing fruit as they once did.

“Crops such as cocoyam, cassava and yam often withered in the ground before harvest, while okra and other vegetables cannot have good yields in the area,” he said.

“Millipedes, snails and fish have gone extinct because of the effect of this pollution on our environment,” he added.

Rose Ita of Ntan Mbat also expressed concern about crude oil allegedly flowing into farmlands and water bodies long after the wells were capped.

She said the situation raised concerns about the safety of water sources, food production and the health of residents.

Another resident, Namonso Nya, called on Shell to compensate affected communities, saying the pollution had undermined farming and other livelihoods.

“Villagers in these communities where these corked well heads are, are suffering. Go to these communities; nothing grows again. SPDC should come in and compensate the people,” he said.