By: Felix Ikpotor
Youths of Bodo Community in Gokana local council of Rivers State have continued to occupy a spill site in the community almost 21 days after the incident occurred.
Bodo community between August and September has been rocked by multiple spills from facilities belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, in the area with the company confirming that one of the spill was as a result of equipment failure.
The youths who had earlier demanded that SPDC must compensate them and clean up their environment said they won’t leave the site until the authorities of the company call them to a dialogue on how to settle the damages caused by the spill.
They said that they cannot go to farm anymore as their source of livelihood has been affected by the spill, that they have nowhere to go to that’s why they are occupying the site.
A leader of the community, Peter Mongea said, “Shell has turned deaf ears and prevented youths from having access to the other sites. They used soldiers to calm the other site without negotiating with the community to pay compensation that’s why these aggrieved youths of the community said this very one, they will not relent until She’ll comes to agree with us to pay for the first, second, third and fourth spill and it will be documented before we leave”.
Others community youths occupying the area said, “we are occupying here because we need justice. We want Shell to attend to us because they have been deceiving us.
“We are speaking with one voice that She’ll should come and negotiate with us and pay us our money”.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre-Nigeria, Mr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface while commenting on the action by the community youths said there should be an urgent action to pull the people away from the site as their continued stay at the site could cause danger to their health.
“The continues occupation of the Bodo youths and people of the community at the oil spill site of August 24th and August 30th is an indication that the people have decided to take their destinies into their own hands. They are accusing She’ll of deceiving them to leave the sites of previous oil spills without compensation and cleanup, adding that this time around they will continue at the site until their demands are met. The spill sites have not been clamped and the spill is still there and the People’s continued stay at a spill site is dangerous to their health.
