A devastating fire broke out at the wellhead of OML15, a facility operated by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), located at the Bukuma/Buguma flow station in Asari-Toru Local Government Area, Rivers State.
The fire, which burned for four days, is believed to have been caused by shelling from security agencies attempting to combat oil theft in the region.
According to reports, the fire started after repeated security operations were carried out to protect the facility from illegal activities, including oil theft.
Livingstone Membere, President of the Kalabari Youths Federation (KYF), who visited the site with a media team, explained that the intense shelling had caused an oil spill, which ultimately ignited the fire.
Civil society organisations have condemned the failure of the federal and state governments as well as the relevant agencies and the operator to put off the fire four days after it occured.
The CSOs, Environmental Defenders Network, (EDEN), and Defense for Human Rights and Democracy (DHRD), in separate statements made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday, called for immediate action to put off the inferno.
EDEN in the statement by its Executive Director, Chima Williams berated the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and oil regulatory agencies for not taking the necessary measures to protect the environment and the people from such high-level environmental disaster, insisting it was gross negligence of human and environmental rights.
“It is unfortunate that for the people of the localities involved, the year 2025 has started on a bad note with the disruption of the environment that sustains their livelihood. In an ideal society where ministries and agencies of government are up and doing, an oil spill is not supposed to last for that long, talk more of a fire outbreak that could destroy human, aquatic and wildlife in a very short period.”.
Williams stressed that besides the environmental and ecological damage, the people of that area have been exposed to several chemicals that could be detrimental to their health, considering how delicate the riverine terrain is.
He called on the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, NOSDRA and the other agencies to rise up to their responsibility of protecting the interest of the common people. He further called on the military and security agencies to adopt more professional and environmentally friendly ways of tackling oil theft and bunkering in the Niger Delta region.
On his part, the Chairman of DHRD, Clifford Christopher, threatened to mobilise mass protests and institute legal action against the government and the NNPCL if nothing urgent is done to quickly put off the fire.
Christopher decried that host communities of the Niger Delta region have continued to suffer the impacts of oil exploration for decades and called for remediation and compensation processes for the impacted communities of the spill and fire outbreak.
“The Defense for Human Rights and Democracy (DHRD), note with much concern the prolonged oil spill that occurred in Buguma waterways in the Degema local government area of Rivers State. The coastal oil well and facility are being operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPCL. This incident is a serious environmental threat to and right to life of the people. Regrettably, this incident has gone on for too long and based on this avoidable spill, the lives of the Aborigines have been destroyed.
“The Defense for Human Rights and Democracy is calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria, the NNPCL, the Rivers State government, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), and all relevant agencies to as a matter of urgency, quickly respond to stop, remediate, restore the environment and pay adequate compensation to the affected communities or face several protests and legal action.
“The Niger Delta region for several decades has faced environmental degradation, exploration and all manner of hazards which has consequently reduced the life span of the people and their sources of livelihood. If this call is not heeded within seven days, then we will have no choice but to embark on mass protests and institute legal action.”
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