By Kuwekuzi Aigbe
Environmental rights groups, civil society organizations, media, and other stakeholders have alleged that the military frustrated them from accessing oil spill sites operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company in Bayelsa State.
The CSOs that visited the place are Health Of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria [ERA/FoEN], Agape Birthrights, Stakeholders Democracy Network [SND], Stakeholders Alliance for Corporate Accountability [SACA], Institute For Niger Delta Studies, Nembe Se Congress and Ondewari Health Education and Environmental Project (OHEEP).
Others are Operation Rescue, Green Earth for Great Minds Initiative, Oil And Gas Producing Areas Enlightenment And Empowerment Initiative (OGPAEEI), and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ, Bayelsa).
In a field report released on Tuesday by Mr. Alagoa Morris, Coordinator, ERA/FoEN, Bayelsa State, the stakeholders alleged that that on getting to the entrance leading to Worikuma-Kiri where the Well 1 is located, the visiting team met heavily armed military presence in gunboats who tossed them around for over two hours in the sun, floating on Santa Barbara River.
The report said one of the military men who identified himself as an Army officer pointed to a Houseboat across the Santa Barbara River [a considerable distance away] and asked the team to go there and obtain permission from Aiteo officials to access the site.
It said another person, apparently a naval officer, directed that the team proceed to another houseboat in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean (about two kilometers away) and get clearance from the Commanding Naval officer.
The report said: “At that point, the other Army officer retorted that he was not obliged to take instruction from the Navy. The visiting team proceeded to see the naval Commander in the houseboat. Armed with the approval of the naval commander to allow access; the CSOs/media team sped back (in three speedboats) to the heavily guarded entrance to the site of interest.
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“Again, the army officer who earlier insisted that the team go and obtain permission from Aiteo representatives in the houseboat stood his ground that it must be Aiteo to grant permission. After floating for a while on the river, the team decided to go and get permission from Aiteo officials at the houseboat across Santa Barbara.
“After waiting and floating on the river under the scorching sun for about another one hour, and Aiteo official approved the team to visit the site. Unfortunately, the Aiteo official was also subjected to questioning by the military when the team went back to the entrance leading to the site.
“Before getting to that point of being dribbled back and forth, we concluded that the situation wasn’t only strange and a deliberate ploy to deny access but frustrating and embarrassing and hence the need to return to Nembe. The instruction for all three speedboats to return to Nembe was sounded and two of the speedboats immediately sped off; expecting the third one to do the same.
“Just before the other two speedboats disappeared, Chief Nengi James, the 2nd Vice President of Ijaw National Congress and son of Nembe, pointed to the military that the team was not interested in gaining access through the main guarded entrance but from an accessible route directly from the bank of Santa Barbara, by walking to Worikuma-Kiri.
“This was approved and the team proceeded in the speedboat to the bank of Santa Barbara and walked to the site on woods laid on the swampy environment displaying the heavy presence of crude oil that has left everything dead (plants and animals).”
The report indicated that on getting to Worikuma-Kiri (the fishing settlement within the immediate environment of OML 29, Well 1), team members observed abandoned huts, dead plants/crops like plantain, pineapple, cassava, etc, crude oil-covered water, and dead mangroves.
The report said from the teams’ observation, Aiteo’s claims were not completely correct, clarifying that there is a difference between clean-up and recovery of spilled crude oil from spill sites/environment.
They, therefore, demanded that the polluter should not dictate the tune with oil industry politics and propaganda as it was false to claim clean-up had started.
They frowned at the use of armed military personnel to prevent stakeholders from seeing and knowing what was happening in the impacted environment.
They also demanded a properly constituted Joint Investigation Team (JIT) should be commissioned for JIV by the Federal Government including experts representing the victims and not just ordinary community members.
They further demanded: “Recommendations in terms of Post Impact Assessment [PIA], proper cleanup and remediation/restoration of the environment should be acted upon immediately, devoid of bureaucracy.
“The Bayelsa State Government should go beyond setting up Technical Committee but take practical steps ensuring proper investigation of the level of impact and spread of the pollutant from Aiteo’s OML Well 1.
“This must include further actions in the interest of primary victims, the fragile ecosystem, and those whose health, sources of income, or livelihood depend on the environment.
“Issues relating to compensation should be robustly handled and addressed. There is a need for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to complement whatever Aiteo has done to ameliorate the plight of.”
