Women from Odidi community in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State have protested at the Heritage Energy office in Edjeba, Warri, demanding urgent action to stop and clean up a crude oil spill they said has affected the community for six months.
The protesters, who carried placards with messages including “We can’t fish in our waters anymore,” “Crude oil has polluted our river,” “Our farms are polluted,” and “Crude oil spill has brought hunger to our Odidi community,” called for immediate intervention.
They demanded that the alleged pollution be stopped, the affected environment cleaned up and relief provided for residents, saying the spill, which they claimed was still ongoing, had severely disrupted economic activities in the community.
“We can’t fish, go to farm again because of the spill,” the women said.
One of the protesters, Nancy Adowarebi, told journalists that families in Odidi were facing severe hardship as a result of the alleged pollution.
She claimed residents were also afraid of using firewood and other naked flames because of crude oil and hydrocarbon fumes around the affected areas.
“I lead the protest because the people, especially women in Odidi community, are in pains.
“Many of them are sick and starving to death because in the morning, the women cannot cook with firewood until the tide goes down,” she said.
Adowarebi also expressed concern over the possibility of a fire outbreak, alleging that the presence of crude oil had created a dangerous situation for residents.
“Naked flame can cause a wide fire that is capable of wiping every living soul in the community,” she warned.
She said residents had been forced to exercise extreme caution while moving around the community and its waterways.
“We travel back home in fear of a fire outbreak and, as such, everyone is being cautious to avoid whatever will create sparks.
“The community deliberately avoids the use of fire for cooking at all cost,” she added.
The protesters also alleged that the company had continued its operations despite the impact of the spill on the community.
“The company did not deem it fit to stop pumping crude through the line when the spill happened. Rather, they kept working. Hence, we are protesting,” Adowarebi alleged.
She vowed that the women would continue their protest until they saw concrete action from Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited.
“We will continue to protest till Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited does the right thing,” she declared.
Another protester, Evelyn Abobo, raised concerns over the alleged health effects of prolonged exposure to the pollution.
Abobo claimed that several residents had developed health problems and further alleged that a woman suffered a miscarriage following prolonged exposure to crude oil fumes.
She appealed to the Federal and Delta State governments, as well as relevant environmental and petroleum regulatory agencies, to urgently deploy medical teams to the community to assess residents and provide emergency assistance.
Receiving the protesters, Heritage Energy’s Community Relations Manager, Jeremiah Oharisi, commended the women for conducting themselves peacefully.
Oharisi assured the protesters that the company had received their grievances and would carefully review the issues raised.
He said Heritage Energy would assess the concerns and take appropriate action.
“Heritage Energy is committed to doing the right thing,” he said.
