Communities Live With Flaring
Communities in Nigeria’s oil-rich Bayelsa State continue to live under the flames of gas flaring, with residents blaming decades of pollution for damaging their health and the fishing and farming livelihoods they depend on.
Footage shows gas burning continuously near the Gbarantoru community in the Ekpetiama Kingdom on Thursday, as residents go about their daily lives close to the flare.
The scenes follow a legal battle between the community and British energy giant Shell over its exit from Nigeria’s onshore oil sector and alleged decades of environmental damage in the region.
“Sometimes, it comes like hell’s fire itself, you know, and the wind takes it, spreads the pollution and so on and so forth,” stated Bubaraye Dakolo, the monarch of the kingdom.
Shell Faces Legal Challenge
Dakolo criticised a July ruling by the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, which dismissed his lawsuit challenging Shell’s divestment and seeking environmental remediation and redress for alleged pollution in Ekpetiama.
“Are you surprised that not too long ago, the Federal High Court in Yenagoa ruled in favour of Shell, saying that based on preliminary objections, saying we should not disturb them with trying to establish the fact that we are being polluted by gas flare?” Dakolo added.
Shell has rejected claims that its operations are primarily responsible for pollution in the Niger Delta, pointing instead to oil theft, pipeline sabotage and illegal refining as major causes. The company has also said it works to clean up spills from its facilities regardless of their cause.
Residents say the flaring has become part of everyday life, calling on the government to intervene.
“The air we breathe in is a free gift from God. Since it’s contaminated, no longer useful, we are dying in silence. Whoever that is living this land, we are dying,” one pointed out.
“The government should go and stop those people for the gas flaring because we are really suffering. Even if they pay us money, that money is nothing to us. They should go and stop that thing,” she added.
Pollution Battle Continues
Dakolo’s lawsuit sought environmental remediation and compensation for what the community says is more than 40 years of damage. The Federal High Court dismissed the case on preliminary grounds on July 17, and Dakolo has since appealed.
Gas flaring has affected communities across Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta for decades. A July investigation by Dataphyte found potentially dangerous levels of air and water pollution in two Bayelsa communities near flare sites, while residents reported damage to crops, farmland, and fishing livelihoods.
Article by Viory
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