Residents of Ogale Community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State have staged a peaceful protest over a fresh oil spill at a manifold operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC).
The oil spill, which occurred two weeks ago, has been acknowledged by the multinational company, which stated that the incident happened while its personnel were flushing oil from a server pit in the manifold.
Dressed in black attire, the protesters carried placards and banners with messages such as “Shell has poisoned our groundwater,” “Declare a state of emergency on the environment of Ogale,” and “Justice for Ogale: Ending the scourge of oil spills.”
Women were seen crying as they sat on the bare ground, expressing their frustration over the repeated environmental damage.
Speaking during the protest, the community’s youth president, Comrade Noble Worlu, decried the frequent spills and their devastating effects on residents.
“We have suffered enough in the hands of Shell, that’s why you can see the mammoth crowd here today,” he said.
“Nobody went to the farm, nobody went to the market, all shops are closed. We are dying of strange illnesses, and we suffer spills on a monthly basis.”
Worlu further demanded compensation for the community, a comprehensive health audit to assess the impact of pollution, and access to clean drinking water.
Chief (Mrs) Igwe Benjamin Ngajima, a female traditional ruler in the community, highlighted the effect of the spills on agriculture.
“You cannot get a bag of cassava from an acre of land in this community,” she said. “Our cowpeas, cocoyam, and other crops are no longer growing properly. Years of pollution have caused us strange illnesses, and our women are suffering from infertility.”
She called on Shell to either remediate the environment and compensate residents adequately or vacate the land.
