Farms destroyed as oil spill ravages Rivers community

An oil spill has ravaged the Ikata community in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, destroying farmlands and polluting rivers.

The spill, which resulted from a blowout, occurred in the early hours of Monday on a 14-inch pipeline right of way, allegedly operated by Renaissance Africa Energy Company, the firm that recently acquired the assets of Shell Petroleum Development Company.

It was gathered that the spill may have been caused by suspected vandals.

Confirming the incident in a statement, an environmentalist and Executive Director,  Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene, said he got a report of the spill from his team members.

Members of Advocacy Centre’s One Million Youth Volunteers Network of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters in the Niger Delta, as well as those under the auspices of its Crude Oil Spill Alert System in the area, reported the spillage to the centre.

The spill point, suspected to be tortious (third-party) interference, is seriously spilling crude oil into the environment and destroying the ecosystem in the surrounding area,” the statement read.

Dr Dumnamene said a visit by volunteers to the scene on Monday revealed vandals allegedly excavated the ground and vandalised the 14-inch pipe along the Okordia-Rumuekpe pipeline right of way.

He said the affected pipeline was currently spewing crude oil into the environment.

The YEAC-Nigeria executive director called on the regulatory agencies to ascertain the cause of the spill and stop it from causing further damage to the environment.

Our correspondent reports that a viral video of the scene shows the impact the spill wreaks on the environment.