Oil spill in Niger delta pollutes five villages

Oil has been spilling from a broken pipeline in the Niger delta for several days, polluting the farmland, fishing grounds and drinking water of five villages, residents in the affected area said on Tuesday.

The pipeline, which conveys crude oil from wells to a collection centre in the Gbarain oilfield, was ruptured last week 13 km from the town of Yenagoa in Bayelsa state. It was torn open by an excavator belonging to a construction company working for Shell.

However, the ruptured pipeline was still spewing oil on Monday as Shell workers struggled to stop the leak. Police cordoned off the area to prevent them from being attacked by angry villagers.

Local residents said heavy rain spread oil from the spill more widely, polluting the communities of Edepie, Etegwe, Okutukutu, Opolo and Biogbolo. The area is about 120 km northwest of Port Harcourt, the main centre of Nigeria's oil industry.

Cecilia Endurance, a housewife, said women were hardest hit as the spill had occurred in the prime season for them to harvest shrimps and lobsters, a major source of local income.

Residents also complained that the spilt oil had polluted farmland and fresh water creeks which are the area's only source of drinking water.

Boyelayefa Debekeme, the speaker of the Bayelsa state house of assembly, visited the site and ordered Shell executives to appear before the legislature this week to answer questions about the spill.

Shell has the reputation of being a poor corporate citizen in Bayelsa state, whose Commissioner for the Environment, Godson Omubo-Dede, has vowed to make oil companies pay up for environmental degradation. Ombudo-Dede is a US-trained environmentalist.