…Residents of the community who spoke to Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) anonymously alleged that the fire started after an Airforce Helicopter was seen shooting to scare off oil bunkerers around the well head
TUE JAN 21 2025-theGBJournal| The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has said that that the fire incident at its Buguma Wellhead 008, at Bukuma and Buguma in Asari Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, operated by its subsidiary, NNPC Eighteen Operating Ltd (NEOL), was directly caused by the activities of pipeline vandals attempting to compromise the Christmas Tree and steal crude oil.
But residents of the community who spoke to Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) anonymously alleged that the fire started after an Airforce Helicopter was seen shooting to scare off oil bunkerers around the well head.
The well head which has been spilling crude oil since early January, 2025.
”This unfortunate act of sabotage, which also resulted in severe damage to the well’s back pressure valve, reflects a disturbing pattern of repeated attacks on wellheads in the zone,” the NNPC said in a statement released Monday by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi O.Soneye.
The state oil company said , crude oil theft on this asset has been persistent, since March 2023 with criminals now resorting to extreme measures, including the use of dynamite to destroy installations and illegally access hydrocarbons.
However, the statement did not include actions the Company and the Federal Government have taken that the fire, which burned for over four days is extinguished.
The Federal Government’s inaction has raised concerns and anger within the communities affected following the destructive nature of the fire.
Farmlands, fishing ponds and air quality has been disrupted by the fire and environmental activists are challenging the Federal Government, oil regulatory agencies and NNPC to act.
Chima Williams, Executive Director, EDEN, in a statement seen by theG&BJournal, Williams berated the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and oil regulatory agencies for not taking the necessary measures to protect the environment and the people from such high level environmental disaster, insisting it was gross negligence of human and environmental rights.
“It is unfortunate that for the people of the localities involved, the year 2025 has started on a bad note with the disruption of the environment that sustains their livelihood. In an ideal society where ministries and agencies of government are up and doing, an oil spill is not supposed to last for that long, talk more of a fire outbreak that could destroy human, aquatic and wildlife in a very short period.”
Williams stressed that aside the environmental and ecological damage, the people of that area have been exposed to several chemicals that could be detrimental to their health, considering how delicate the riverine terrain is.
He called on the Rivers State Ministry of environment, NOSDRA and the other agencies to rise up to their responsibility of protecting the interest of the common people.
He further called on the military and security agencies to adopt more professional and environmentally friendly ways of tackling oil theft and bunkering.
Like EDEN, Youths Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) join in the call on FG to ”put out the fire and stop giving excuses.”
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