Niger Delta groups demand cleanup before divestment

Nathan Tamarapreye

Environmental and civil society groups have accused oil companies of abandoning decades of pollution in the Niger Delta as multinational firms divest from onshore operations without adequately addressing environmental damage.
Ahead of the fifth Niger Delta Alternatives Convergence (NDAC) scheduled for 14 May in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) said nearly 70 years of oil and gas extraction had left the region with devastated ecosystems, polluted rivers, destroyed farmlands and contaminated drinking water.
In a statement issued by HOMEF’s Director of Programmes, Joyce Brown, the organisation warned that communities across the Niger Delta continue to suffer severe environmental and health consequences while oil firms exit without proper remediation, compensation or decommissioning of ageing infrastructure.
According to HOMEF, at least 589 oil spills were recorded in Nigeria in 2024 alone, with about 19,000 barrels of crude reportedly discharged into the environment, worsening ecological destruction and public health risks in oil-producing communities.
Brown said many residents still depend on contaminated rivers and streams for daily survival despite mounting evidence linking oil pollution to respiratory illnesses, skin diseases, infertility, birth defects, higher infant mortality and increased neonatal deaths.
She said decades of unchecked extraction had left behind dying mangroves, abandoned oil facilities and deep social and economic hardship in communities that have contributed immensely to Nigeria’s wealth.
The group criticised oil companies for allegedly ignoring longstanding demands to halt harmful extraction practices, safely decommission obsolete infrastructure and compensate affected communities.
HOMEF also cited repeated oil spill incidents tied to ageing facilities, including the reported May 2025 Trans Niger Pipeline spill in B-Dere community, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, which followed another major leak on the same facility in March 2025.
The organisation said such incidents highlighted the dangers of obsolete oil infrastructure and reinforced the urgency of prioritising environmental restoration over continued fossil fuel expansion.
HOMEF further drew attention to Ogoniland, where abandoned infrastructure and repeated spills in communities such as Kpean and Eteo-Eleme have continued to destroy livelihoods and displace residents.
The group insisted that any plan to resume oil production in Ogoni must be suspended until comprehensive environmental remediation is completed.
It called on both local and international oil firms to clean up polluted sites, restore damaged ecosystems, safely decommission ageing assets and compensate communities for decades of environmental and economic losses.
HOMEF said NDAC, launched in 2022, was created to advance collective action and people-centred solutions for socio-ecological justice in the Niger Delta.
The 2026 convergence will also highlight resistance efforts in Ogoni, Nigeria, and Yasuni, Ecuador, where communities have opposed fossil fuel exploitation for decades. Organisers said the event would be streamed live on HOMEF’s official YouTube channel.