HOMEF, environmentalists, bemoan Trans Niger Pipeline leak, pollution of B-Dere community

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and other environment-focused Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have lamented renewed pollution incidents in the Ogoni area of Rivers.

A statement issued on Friday by Miss Kome Odhomor, Media/Communications Lead at HOMEF, noted that a visit by the HOMEF team and other CSOs to the spill sites met distressed indigenes of the communities.

Odhomor noted that the impacted community folks expressed a high level of pain and a sense of exposure to toxic hydrocarbons and abandonment.

Odhomor noted that the woman leader of the community, Chief Mrs Augustina Biebie, stated that the level of restlessness in the community has only worsened.

“The spill brought crude oil into the houses of many of our people. The thick smell of crude oil has affected our health. Breathing has become a problem, and it has become difficult to even feed because some of us cannot light fires in our kitchens,” she said

Pastor Kpobari Bani, whose house was affected, stated that “Since this incident started, I have not been able to cook for fear of explosion. My mother has been displaced and has moved to a neighbour’s house for fear of the explosion. Shell said it has sold to Renaissance Energy, which now owns the pipeline. So we call on them to come and stop the spill. We also call on the government and other relevant authorities to come to our aid and bring remedy to the land.”

The Executive Director of HOMEF, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, expressed disappointment over the level of neglect to communities.

“We are in a disaster zone, and further disasters can erupt from even an accidental spark of fire. The slow response of the government and oil companies underscores the lack of care for the people and the environment. This level of laxity is unconscionable.

“The fact that this spill that happened a week ago is yet to be stopped sends a very strong point to why the government should focus on cleaning up Ogoniland and not seek to open new oil wells. The old wells should be shut down and decommissioned. Our communities must not continue to be sacrificed on the altar of petrodollars.”

Bassey also called on all relevant authorities to move into action to curtail the spread of the flowing crude.

“The government cannot be silent at a time as this.  This is a time when all agencies should be here to stop the leak by shutting down the pipeline, stop the pollution and carry out urgent cleanup and remediation.

“We call on NOSDRA, NESRA, MENA and HYPREP to move into swift action to stem the unfolding ecological and human crises.”

Also, Celestine Akpobari, an environmental activist, stated that, “This is one of the reasons why we have rejected the idea of restarting oil exploitation in Ogoni. The exploitation has not started, but the situation is becoming more volatile with spills of this nature.

“This is supposed to be a remediation site, but as you can see, it is an ecological crime scene. We are afraid that if this is not properly contained, the damage will be far worse than what we see.”

HOMEF called for swift action to plug the leakage, remediate the land and carry out a thorough health audit on the exposed people of the community.

“The government must show that it cares for the people and the environment. Aged oil facilities should be decommissioned and retired, and all alleged divestments should be nullified to ensure that those who have made our communities literal land mines do not walk away from accountability,” HOMEF stated.

 It would be recalled that on May 6, the Trans Niger Pipeline ruptured and triggered streams of crude oil flowing through B-Dere community, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers.

The cause of the explosion is said to be equipment failure.

A similar explosion occurred in the Bodo community on March 17, 2025, which caused a massive fire that spread through the mangroves.

These spills show very clearly the massive risks the communities will be exposed to if the desire of federal government to resume oil extraction in Ogoniland happens.

Many of the B-Dere community people have been internally displaced, while those already impacted by the spill are living in fear over their health and safety.

Officials of Renaissance Energy have yet to respond to requests for reaction and update on a Joint Investigative Visit (JIV).