Massive Oil Spill at Ilaje Communities, Nigeria
Description:
OriOke Iwamimo is a small rural community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. Oil companies Chevron, Agip, Exxon Mobil, Conoil, Express and Kavendish started exploring for crude oil when it was discovered in neighbouring Ogorogo Village in 1968. The companies laid pipelines, established both onshore and offshore locations and dug canals. While doing this, their activities impacted negatively on the people of OriOke Iwamimo and surrounding communities, who are mostly fishermen and farmers. Despite the impact, the oil companies refuse to conduct environmental impact assessment to ascertain the level of damage, and proceed to clean up the communities and pay due compensation to the locals. The press talked about a protest that was taking place in July 2011, and reported "Youth from the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State have accused the Oil giant, Chevron Nigeria Limited, of failing to implement the General Memorandum of Understanding. That general memorandum, or GMOU, was signed with the people of the area because they had refused to merge communities in the Oil producing sector together. Leaders of the march had said Chevron Nigeria limited had deprived them much of their rights in their own land, by capitalizing on the unresolved rejection of a merger proposed for the oil communities in the area” [1] |
Basic Data
| Name of conflict: | Massive Oil Spill at Ilaje Communities, Nigeria |
| Country: | Nigeria |
| State or province: | Ondo State |
| Location of conflict: | OriOke Iwamimo community, Ilaje Local Government Area |
| Accuracy of location | MEDIUM (Regional level) |
Source of Conflict
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Fossil Fuels and Climate Justice/Energy |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Oil and gas exploration and extraction Pollution related to transport (spills, dust, emissions) |
| Specific commodities: | Crude oil |
Project Details and Actors
| Project details | |
| Type of population | Rural |
| Start of the conflict: | 26/06/2007 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | Chevron Nigeria Limited from Nigeria Chevron Polska Energy Resources Sp. z o.o. from United States of America Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from Nigeria Agip Group from Italy Eni group from Italy ExxonMobil Corporation (Exxon) from United States of America Express Oil and Gas Limited from Nigeria Cavendish Petroleum Nigeria Ltd from Nigeria Conoil PLC from Nigeria Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from Nigeria |
| Relevant government actors: | Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. NNPC |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | Environmental Rights Action |
Conflict & Mobilization
| Intensity | MEDIUM (street protests, visible mobilization) |
| Reaction stage | Mobilization for reparations once impacts have been felt |
| Groups mobilizing: | Farmers Landless peasants Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements Trade unions Women Fisher people |
| Forms of mobilization: | Community-based participative research (popular epidemiology studies, etc..) Development of alternative proposals Involvement of national and international NGOs Media based activism/alternative media Official complaint letters and petitions |
Impacts
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Soil contamination, Oil spills, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover Potential: Fires, Floods (river, coastal, mudflow), Food insecurity (crop damage), Waste overflow, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion |
| Health Impacts | Visible: Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…) Potential: Infectious diseases |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Loss of livelihood, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Loss of landscape/sense of place Potential: Displacement, Violations of human rights |
Outcome
| Project Status | In operation |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Migration/displacement |
| Proposal and development of alternatives: | -Government should compel the oil companies in Ilaje land to openly conduct tests to determine which oil company is responsible for the spill. -The guilty oil company should clean up the spill and provide immediate relief services to the affected communities. -After the clean up the oil company should do a post impact study of the affected areas with a view to rehabilitating the people and the environment and pay compensation to the people. -The relevant agencies should compel the oil companies to operate with international best practices |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
| Briefly explain: | Despite the impact, the oil companies refuse to conduct environmental impact assessment to ascertain the level of damage, and proceed to clean up the communities and pay due compensation to the locals. |
Sources & Materials
| References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries |
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Meta information
| Contributor: | Nnimmo Bassey |
| Last update | 18/08/2019 |
| Conflict ID: | 573 |
Images |
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Protesters against Chevron activity
Source: http://saharareporters.com/2014/07/11/oil-producing-community-ondo-state-protest-over-chevrons-reluctance-fulfill-agreement
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