HOMEF Demands Urgent Cleanup, Compensation After New Bayelsa Oil Spill Disrupted Coastal Livelihoods

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation has called for an urgent cleanup, compensation, and full accountability following an oil spill at the Nembe Creek facility in Bayelsa State that has disrupted fishing activities and threatened the livelihoods of coastal communities.

The spill occurred Aug. 22 during crude oil loading operations at a facility operated by Nembe Exploration and Production Limited within Oil Mining Lease 29.

The company was formerly known as Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Limited.

A field visit by HOMEF, an environmental rights group, found crude oil in the water and along the mangrove banks around Nembe Creek.

Group members noted the pungent smell of crude approximately two kilometers before reaching the community.

Residents reported that tidal movements have spread the pollution through interconnected waterways and fishing settlements.

Advertisement

The affected communities depend heavily on fishing for food and income. Local residents reported damaged nets, lost fish catches, an inability to use the river for domestic purposes, and the disappearance of aquatic resources.

“We cannot go out with our fishing nets and hooks for fishing again,” said Love Mark, vice-chairlady of the Nembe Creek women. Mark added that nets contaminated by crude oil have become unusable, noting that individual nets cost between 150,000 and 170,000 naira.

HRH Agent Anthony Waya, the paramount ruler of the Nembe Creek communities, said repeated pollution has severely damaged local livelihoods.

“Due to the destruction of the aquatic lives, there are no fish in the river,” Waya said, adding, “People would go fishing in two or three canoes and return with nothing.”

Following the spill, community women protested at the oil facility to demand a cleanup, a damage assessment, and support for affected residents.

It was gathered that a joint investigation visit reportedly identified operational failure as the cause of the latest spill. However, the volume of crude released and the full geographical extent of the pollution remained inconclusive as of Sept. 1.

Advertisement

Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of HOMEF, said identifying the cause of a spill must not be the end of accountability.

“The latest incident comes against the background of previous pollution incidents associated with OML 29, including the prolonged 2021 Santa Barbara Well 1 spill wellhead blowout,” Bassey said.

He stressed that recurring spills must be treated as a systemic environmental governance concern rather than isolated incidents.

HOMEF called on Nembe Exploration and Production Limited, the Bayelsa State government, and federal regulatory authorities to publish the complete JIV findings, conduct an independent environmental assessment, and immediately begin comprehensive cleanup and ecological restoration.

The organization also demanded urgent relief and compensation for affected households, the inclusion of all fishing camps in future assessments, and sustained environmental monitoring. Furthermore, the group urged authorities to strengthen spill prevention systems and address the wider legacy of pollution in OML 29.

HOMEF also called for the protection of community fishing livelihoods from the wider operational footprint of crude-loading activities, including the impacts of navigational buoys and vessel movements.

Advertisement

“Communities cannot continue to bear the environmental and economic costs of oil extraction while accountability remains limited,” the group said in a statement, adding that authorities must ensure pollution prevention and community participation become integral to environmental governance in Nembe.