- Demands compliance on compensation payments to impacted communities
From Ben Dunno, Warri
Indigenes of affected environment under Concerned Bonga Oil Spill Impacted Communities (CBOSIC), yesterday embarked on a peaceful protest at the Ogunu gate of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Warri South Local Government areas of Delta state, demanding payment of compensation by a company or risk operational disruption.
The body has consequently called on the federal government, local and international organisations as well as well-meaning Nigerians, to prevail on SPDC management to pay up the compensation as recommended by various regulatory agencies to the people who have had to contend with years of hardship caused as a result of its of negligence on their land.
While stating that the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had ordered Shell to pay them the sum of 3.6 billion 6.2 billion US dollars, respectively, the group insisted that it would not rest on their oars until they secured the justice for their people.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards displayed by the angry protesters included; “Wayo Shell pays our Bonga spill money now”, “Shell clean our environment now”, “We are tired of SPDC divide & Rule” “Our people have suffered enough” “FG Please Come To Our Rescue” and “Shell stop your evil practice,” among others.
Addressing journalists, Mr Hosanna Jalogho-Williams, Vice Chairman of (CBOSIC) and leader of the protest, said that Shell had been grossly adamant to both directives hence the reasons for the peaceful protest.
“We are here on a protest based on the Bonga Spill that occured in 2011. As of the time the spill occured which was the fault of the SPDC, there was no containment to the Tida flow and water spread to about 120 kilometres on the water lines.
“However, every attempt to get Shell to carry out a redress proved abortive with so much disregard for us, using nasty language to the extent of saying the spill is a misery spill.
“We do not know what Shell meant by misery, it does not make sense. Everything in creation has a definition in science.
“If you talk about crude oil exploration, it falls within the gamut of Petroleum Engineering. Also, in law, there is nothing like misery.
“NOSDRA has already told them that they are liable to the tune of 3.6 billion US Dollars. NIMASA also say that they are liable to the tune of 6.2 billion US Dollars. So Shell should pay the compensation. It was for these reasons we came within the ambit of the law to do this peaceful protest”.
“To let the whole world know the level at which Shell is inflicting pains on the people,” he said.
Jalogho-Williams, who is also an Environmentalist, alleged that some top government officials were behind the unwholesome attitude of Shell’s refusal to pay the compensation.
The environmentalist said that the evaporation of the gaseous state of hydrocarbon could lead to disability in babies and deafness, among others.
He, however, noted that the oil spill was not all about the economy, but the well-being of the people.
Also speaking, Mr Mike Tiemo, Chairman, CBOSIC, said that the protest would be a continuous exercise until Shell does the needful.
“We will occupy Shell facilities, terminals, platforms and locations until they comply. Federal Government should also do the needful by prevailing on Shell without further delay.
“We are moving to the sea to disrupt their operations,” Tiemo warned.
In the same vein, Mrs Comfort Yaye, a 73-year-old woman recounting her ordeal, lamented the pains the multinational had inflicted on them over the years and called for immediate compensation and remediation.
It would be recalled that on Dec. 20, 2011, the oil tanker operated by Shell Petroleum was loading at the Bonga Community oil field in the Niger Delta. The spill, however, occured and resulted in the spill of approximately 40,000 barrels of crude oil.
The incident occured about 120 kilometres off the Delta coast and caused several environmental devastation in about 457 coastal communities in the Niger Delta.