Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has raised the alarm over another incident of toxic substances killing hundreds of fish across the creek from Shell’s facilities in Odimodi Community in Delta State.

Odimodi community originated from Amatu in present day Bayelsa State and is the headquarters of Iduwini Kingdom in Burutu Local Government Area of ​​Delta State. The community has a population of approximately 15,000 people.

In a field report available on its website, ERA/FoEN noted that “On Sunday, August 21, 2022, ERA/FoEN received an emergency call from the community reporting a spill of waste oil products from Shell’s waste disposal pipeline. The Focardos Shell terminal goes offshore.

The communities around Iduwini Kingdom, including Odimodi, are home to Shell, Agip and other companies. It is also part of the Forcados terminal, trans Ramos pipeline, SPDC export line, loading platform and Agip Beniboye cooked wells.

Dere Podoki, Community PRO, said, “Last week Wednesday, August 17, 2022, we received a phone call from motorcyclists in the community that a valve on the Shell sewage discharge pipeline was faulty and toxic chemicals were being released into the creek.

According to him, the public confirmed that the information was correct when they rushed to the site. The incident is alleged to have happened on August 19, 2022, and the community took some swift action by reporting it to the facility’s owners, Shell, and the regulator, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).

The environmental group noted that at the time of the field investigation by ERA/FoEN, both bodies had not yet responded to letters from the community.

READ FROM D THE NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

The ERA/FoEN report notes that the spill site is not close to a human-populated creek, which was a fishing spot for most of the community’s residents and also served as a source of water for domestic use for some households. Apart from the floating dead fish, there was also a sheen of oil on the surface of the water. The affected areas give off a foul smell, which is one of the reasons why fish in the creek die.

Fred Obi, a retired police officer and owner of a fish camp in Odimodi Community said, “When I retired in 2017, I took up fishing and built fish ponds on and off shore but in 2018 when the pollution happened. All the fish I had died and there are none left. Once upon a time, I relied on mangrove fishponds for unproductive life due to seepage. All the fish I imported and kept died from contamination.

“Currently, the 2018 spill is still visible in the creek (the mound under the river is submerged in raw water). I can easily catch a lot of Bonga fish before the spill and all the small fish I use as bait are gone. My main demand is for Shell to restore the environment and compensate me for the losses as their spill has taken away my pension.

Alagoa Morris, one of the authors of the ERA/FoEN report, stated that “Shell must urgently return to the community to conduct a post-impact assessment and put in place mechanisms, please clear all affected areas in the community. 2018 crude oil spill and current contamination from wastewater discharge pipeline.

Odimodi community has been turned into a polluted colony by the unaddressed crude oil spill of 2018 and sewage spill of 19th August 2022.