Environmentalists want end to crude oil-induced fire outbreaks

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

The Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) on Tuesday called for urgent intervention by the relevant authorities to stop the oil spill from a leaking wellhead and the resultant fire outbreak between Bukuma and Buguma in Asari Toru Local Government Area of Rivers.

A statement by the NGO via its Media Manager, Miss Elvira Jordan described the incident as an assault on the environment that has been allowed to go on for too long.

According to EDEN, the call came after residents of the community sent a save-a-souls to the NGO in the early hours of January 13, after a huge fire broke out at the wellhead which had been spilling crude oil since early January 2025.

The NGO noted that a resident of the community who spoke to EDEN alleged that the fire started after an Airforce Helicopter was seen shooting to scare off oil bunkerers around the well head.

Executive Director of EDEN, 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 emphasised that aside from 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.