Location: Odimodi Community, Burutu LGA, Delta State. Estimated Discovery of Leakage: 3 Months Ago Site Visited By ERA/FoEN: 5th of July, 2023
1.0 Introduction
Odimodi is an Ijaw riverine community located in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State. The community has an estimated population of about 5,000 people. It is the headquarters of the Iduwini Kingdom. The major source of livelihood for the Odimodi people is fishing and farming.
The functional leadership structure of Odimodi is made up of the community chairman and his executives who oversee all community activities and representations. The community has three (3) major quarters namely the Ifikorowei, Ifiye, and the Imbe/Bomuzouwei. The community is about 2 hours by water (speed boat) from Warri, and is more of an island due to its accessibility by water only, with about 3 square kilometers (habitable area).
Communities around the Iduwini Kingdom including Odimodi are host communities to Shell, Agip, and other companies. It is also part of the Forcados terminal, trans-Ramos pipeline, SPDC export line, loading platform, Agip Beniboye cooked wells, etc.
The extractive activities of the oil companies in Odimodi and neighbouring communities have constantly resulted in oil spills, leakages, and chemical waste disposal in the environment and its impact.
On the 5th of July 2023, the people of Odimodi drew the attention of Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria to a gas leakage that has brought about an atmosphere of fear and panic in the community.
ERA/FoEN received a call from the Public Relations Officer of Odimodi Community, Dere Podoki, alerting on a gas leakage from Bemobebe-aka Gas Well allegedly belonging to Agip, which had been non-operational for a long time. The Bemobebe-aka Gas Well is located at the outskirts of Odimodi Community; a route that is usually used by fishermen to carry out their fishing activities, and farmers to access their farmlands.
This leakage was first noticed by a fisherman in April 2023, who reported the incident to the community leadership.
The community said the environment around the gas leakage is now very toxic and highly polluted. The locals are currently at risk of severe health impacts from inhaling the gas that has circulated around the air space of Odimodi, coupled with the dangers of a fire outbreak from the flammable product.
COMMUNITY TESTIMONIES
Brakemi Ndoro – 41-year-old fisherman who discovered the leakage
About three (3) months ago when I went to fish in that area, I was the person who came to report to the community what I saw there. When I and some people went fishing, we heard a sound around the area. When we got there, we saw a breeze coming out of the location. It almost made us run away, but we realized it was coming from the Agip site so we decided to check. When we checked, we saw a pipe from which the breeze was coming.
The smell around the area was very bad like an infection. We heard the facility belongs to Agip. We are village people. We don’t know what will happen next. We are begging Agip to come and fix their equipment to help us and save our lives.
Joseph Omoko – Youth Secretary, Odimodi
We got information from a fisherman that there was a leakage at the gas site. We went for an inspection at the gas station and noticed that there was air coming out from the valve. The valve has been there for very long so we noticed that maybe rust or other factors have led to the leakage from the valve. The gas station has been there for a long time and has not been active.
After the inspection, we were informed that the community chairman reported the situation but up till now there hasn’t been any response from Agip or the government.
It is a place that fishermen use for their fishing. Agip should investigate what is happening and stop the leakage.
Silva Micheal – Community Women Leader
The area of the gas leakage is very bad and that is a place people go fishing. That place can ignite at any time because it is gas. It is a very risky thing for us to have a gas leakage in the air. We need safety.
We went to inspect the place two (2) weeks ago. They told us that people will come but we haven’t seen anything till now. We want them to come and work on that place to save us from the risk of falling sick and fire outbreaks. People who use lamps for fishing usually go around there. We pray that there is no fire before they work on the place.
They should come and close the leakage so it will not affect us.
Solomon Gbegha – Community Chairman
The situation of gas leakage was reported to NOSDRA. They sent delegates to inspect the place. We also engaged some people to see if they can stop the leakage, but they could not. The leakage is coming from the ground and from the valve.
I have called the representative of NOSDRA in Delta State. He said they would get in touch with the relevant authorities for them to come back for GIG. We have been waiting for them and for some time now we have not heard from them. Hopefully, they will come.
As gas is not like an oil spill, it is in the air and now our health is not safe. We appeal to Agip to close down the valve and stop the leakage. We call on Agip, NOSDRA, and the federal government to come for GIG so we can know the cause of the leakage.
Our people are fishermen and women. Somebody may mistakenly take fire there and cause a fire outbreak. Because it is a gas leakage, the impact is not very visible until there is a fire outbreak.
We have informed our community that nobody should go to that territory with light. Everybody was advised to give it a chance to that area because the gas is still coming out.
Dere Podoki – Community PRO
There is a gas well owned by Agip. It has not been operational for a long time now. There is a serious leakage at the sight presently.
We have informed NOSDRA of the leakage. They came for inspection on the 26th of June, 2023. They said they would write to Agip officially to see how they can curtail the leakage. As we speak now, our lives are in danger. When we last contacted NOSDRA to know what actions they have taken concerning the spill, they said their report is not for public consumption and that they have written to Agip officially to report the issue for another inspection with the Agip team.
The people of Odimodi are at risk. The smell of the gas has taken over the area and can cause serious damage to the health of the people. If there is any spark, it will flame up and turn into a huge fire.
People fish around that area and the facility is leaking seriously. We don’t know what to do or how to get the government to come to our aid.
We want Agip to fix up the valve and clean up the area. They should make the gas well operational for the benefit of the people. If they are not ready to use the gas well, they should put it in order to avoid future leakages.
Observation/Conclusion
According to the Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, Chima Williams, our observation from what we saw and the discussions we had with locals indicates that the people of Odimodi are currently in distress. After surviving a series of spills recorded in 2018 and 2022, they are suffering yet another assault on their environment, in the form of the current gas leakage. Despite housing multinational companies, Odimodi has been neglected by these companies, hence the slow response to oil spills and gas leakages. The government needs to implement stringent policies that will regulate and manage the activities of oil multinationals in Odimodi and other host communities.
Recommendations
- The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) should rise to its duties in implementing contingency plans against oil spills and gas leakages in Odimodi and surrounding communities.
- Agip should urgently deploy technicians to close the leakage and conduct an assessment of the level of air pollution in the area for immediate intervention.
- Medical teams should be deployed to Odimodi to examine the health status of the people, after being exposed to such air and environmental pollution.
- The media should expose the environmental crisis ongoing and escalating in Odimodi.