Environmentalists on Monday called for an end to frequent oil leaks reported at Nigeria Agip Agic Oil Company (NAOC) oil fields in Tein community, Biseni in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa.

The environmentalists under the auspices of Environment Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) made the call in their field report signed by Mr Alagoa Morris, Head of Field Operations at the group.

The group regretted that several spill incidents which occurred within the Biseni Asamabiri cluster were yet to be remediated.

The spills connected to a 14-inch pipeline which evacuates crude from the impacted oilfields to NAOC facility at Obiobio.

The environmental rights group noted that NOAC acted unilaterally adding that the statutory agencies like National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Ministry of Environment were not invited to witness fixing of the pipeline.

The group noted the Tein in Biseni who are predominantly fishermen and farmers have been adversely impacted by several oil spills caused by equipment failure over the years without any remedy.

The report reads in part: “The operators, Agip, should ensure that they carry the regulators along, that is why we are here today.

“When we that they are coming with Swamp Buggy again we felt we should follow up on what is happening to the Environment.

“Want to join voices with the people, the families, and others that Agip should do the needful by coming to ensure that the Environment that was polluted by their own crude oil is properly cleaned up.

“Possible remediation should be carried out that is what we are demanding, a sustainable Environment for our people that is what we need.”

Also, community leader, Chief David Obuma, who bared his mind, said at the spill site that over the time the clan has suffered a lot of damages from the oil companies, Shell and Agip as they have never done any perfect clean job in their environment.

“Here when we hear any spillage they will say it is sabotage, does it mean that the oil cannot be cleaned.

“They always term any oil spill sabotage meaning somebody must have burst the pipe, who is the person with no name, so, we are worried.

“Last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, around March, there was a spillage in 14 inches pipe beginning from the cluster to Obiobio, in Ahoada, before the people realised they came with excavators, without even letting the Chiefs know that such a thing has happened.

“They covered it up till today, we have written letters to Agip, they have not done anything neither the clean up throughout last year the whole flood the oil was circulating everywhere in the area.

“They have not even come up with any programme, saying it is economic sabotage that somebody must have tampered with it.

“For us we are not host Community, we are landlords, because when you say host Community that means you are hosting somebody, that can run away any time, is not that oil pipe pass over our land.

“We are the landlord of Agip and Shell. They should listen to us, do some things to ensure that the Environment is not polluted.

“Our concern is, if the Environment is polluted is not the matter of the present generation, but the generation yet to be born will suffer it.

“Because of the ignorance of our people this matter is just pending like that,” Obuma said.

However, when contacted, Cioni Marililia, Media Relations official at Eni, the Italian parent company to NAOC declined comment and pledged to revert with a response soon.

ERA/FoEN Head of Field Operations, Alagoa Morris