The people of Ogale Community in Eleme local government area of Rivers State have staged a peaceful protest following fresh oil spill, which occured at a manifold operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited in the community.
The multinational oil company had already acknowledged that the spill, which occurred a fortnight ago, happened while its personnel were flushing oil from its server pit in the manifold.
The protesters, all clad in black attires, carried placards and banners with inscriptions such “Shell has poisoned our ground water”, “declare state of emergency on the environment of Ogale”, “Shell is killing us with their operations”, “justice for Ogale ending the scourge of oil spills”, amongst others.
LEADERSHIP observed that during the protest, which took place at the Shell manifold in Ogale,
women were seen crying as they sat on bare floor.
Speaking during the protest, the youth president of the community, Comrade Noble Worlu, said the people of Ogale have suffered a lot in the hands of the multinational oil company.
Worlu said: “We have suffered enough in the hands of Shell, that’s why you can see the mammoth crowd here today. Nobody went to farm, nobody went to market, all shops are closed, everybody in the community is here today as a sign of solidarity to speak to the whole world that Ogale people have suffered a lot. We are dying of strange illnesses, we are suffering spillage on monthly basis.
“The last spill was just last week in this same facility that we are standing. We are suffering from different kinds of illnesses we don’t know. When will the spillage stop, when will Ogale people get justice, when will Ogale people get clean water to drink, because Shell has contaminated our ground water?
“Our demand is that compensation should be paid to Ogale people. There should be adequate health audit for Ogale people to ascertain the level of damage done to our system and how medical treatment can be enforced. They should give us clean water.”
Also speaking, a female traditional ruler in the community, Chief (Mrs) Igwe Benjamin Ngajima, said farms in Ogale no longer yield bountifully due to the degradation of the environment, pointing out that oil spills have really impacted on women in the community.
She said: “You cannot get a bag of cassava from an acre of land in this community. Our cowpeas are not growing, cocoa yam are not growing, all our crops are not growing well and do not grow well again. Their years of pollution have caused us strange sicknesses.
“Look at the whole crowd here if you can see up to two pregnant women. Our women are suffering from infertility. Shell should come and remediate our environment, pay us adequate compensation or they should leave this land for us.”