Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has berated Shell for poor response to ongoing oil leakage within its oil fields in Bayelsa.

ERA/FoEN, an environmental rights-focused Non Governmental Organisation, in its field reports on the incident, regretted that the oil firm had yet to take steps to stop the leakage and save the environment from further degradation.

An oil leakage from Seibou Deep facility operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has been discharging crude into Ogboinbiri River in Southern Ijaw local government area of Bayelsa.

According to the field report signed by Mr Alagoa Morris, Head of Field operations at ERA/FoEN and issued in Yenagoa, the spill site has remained unattended to since January 2015.

The Environmental Rights group further observed that ‘booms’, plastic materials used to contain flow of oil on water surface by official of SPDC had failed to trap the oil as it leaked into the flowing water.

“The movement of canoes in and out of the canal, that caused the booms placed by Shell to contain the spill, failed. The booms were used to tie across the breath of the canal mid-way.

“It was confirmed at Ogboinbiri that the Spill had occurred for almost two months now, but just contained on the canal with booms by Shell,” ERA stated.

The NGO regretted that a Joint Investigative Visit has not been carried out on the current spill about two months afterwards , describing the situation as very strange and unacceptable.

“Shell cannot leave crude oil in the open and on the canal where fisher folks and farmers also access is condemnable.

“No matter the cause of spill, this singular act alone should see Shell as culpable and should take full responsibility of the spread away from the canal and downstream to impact the other communities,” the report read in part.

The group urged Shell to ensure that a Joint Investigative visit is convened as well as take responsibility for the clean-up and compensation of victims impacted by the spill.

•Photo shows oil leakage scene.

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