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Residents of oil-bearing communities in the Niger Delta have raised the alarm over rising cases of strange deaths, strange illnesses and early cessation of menstruation among women, which they linked to persistent oil spills and gas leaks.
The residents, drawn from Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Akwa Ibom States, spoke in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, during the second edition of the People’s Environmental Assembly, also known as Eco-Festival, organised by environmental rights group, We the People.
The festival, themed “A Celebration of Culture, Resilience and Resistance,” was aimed at spotlighting the environmental and social consequences of over seven decades of oil exploration in the region.
Participants lamented that years of pollution have devastated farmlands, fishing grounds and water sources, exposing them to serious health hazards.
Precious Ibegwura from Erema Community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State said his community has become a shadow of itself.
“Our community today is nothing to write home about. Erema is now a community of tears. The oil companies have destroyed our land. They have left pollution everywhere,” he said.
He added: “We have so many health challenges now. Anyone we have that is 60 years, we call that person a living ancestor. It is the activities of the oil companies that have left us in this mess. We are speaking for justice, and we must get it.”
Also, Mitema Suoye George from Otuabagi Community in Bayelsa State, said pollution has destroyed fishing livelihoods and affected women’s health.
“My mother told me that before they started oil exploration in Otuabagi, they were enjoying life and catching big fishes,” she said.
George alleged that women as young as 35 now experience early menopause, while a study reportedly conducted by KATBETKACHE Women Development Centre showed cases of cancer among residents.
“We have been suffering. Women who are 35 can no longer see their menstruation again. From the report, it was shown that many women are down with cancer too. We want justice,” she stated.
Similarly, Warda Nebani Beryamon, former youth leader in Ikarama Community, Bayelsa State, described Ikarama as having the highest number of oil spills in Nigeria, with alarming cases of cancer.
Pastor Timothy Agumbiade, Executive Vice President of Bille Kingdom Youth Federation in Degema LGA of Rivers State, said Bille, which hosts two major oil fields, has suffered gas leaks from its waterways since October last year.
He said despite over 16 joint visits by government agencies and media organisations, with samples collected, nothing tangible has been done.
Agumbiade said the community recorded seven deaths in September and four in October, mostly persons below 60, and recounted a July 3 explosion that killed a woman. He said residents, including children, suffer skin rashes and eye problems.
Convener of We the People, Comrade Ken Henshaw, said decades of oil exploration have plunged the Niger Delta into a persistent environmental crisis.
He called for a comprehensive environmental audit to establish the scale of damage, identify culprits and drive remediation and ecological justice, stressing that the Eco-Festival is meant to strengthen public engagement and hold oil companies accountable.
