Nigeria Recorded 18,149 Oil Spills In 18 Years,  Says Prof fagbohun 

by Idahosa Musa

—Toxic water, infant deaths, Others degradation ravage communities

No fewer than 18,149 oil spill incidents were recorded across Nigeria between 2006 and 2024, with devastating consequences for communities, human health and the environment, former Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, has disclosed.

Fagbohun made the disclosure while presenting a keynote paper at the public unveiling of the State of the Nigerian Environment Report: “Voices from the Communities” at the weekend in Benin, Edo State of Nigeria.

The event, organized by the Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN), also featured the celebration of environmental heroes and was attended by environmental activists, lawyers, civil society organizations and other stakeholders.

He said the figures obtained from the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) offered a grim picture of the worsening environmental crisis confronting the country.

According to Fagbohun, the report provides disturbing evidence of the devastating consequences of environmental degradation, particularly in the Niger Delta, where communities have continued to bear the burden of pollution arising from oil exploration and other extractive activities.

He said data and findings contained in the report showed that the crisis had gone beyond environmental damage, warning that polluted water, degraded farmlands and other ecological hazards were increasingly threatening the health, livelihoods and future of affected communities.

“More than 18,149 NOSDRA-recorded field oil spills occurred between 2006 and 2024,” Fagbohun stated, adding that the findings were also informed by data from the United Nations Environment Programme and the Bayelsa State Commission.

He cited Ogoniland as one of the worst-affected areas, saying groundwater contamination in parts of the region had exceeded World Health Organisation limits by as much as 900 times, leaving affected communities exposed to potentially carcinogenic water.

The former LASU Vice Chancellor further disclosed that in Bayelsa State, exposure to oil spills had been linked to rising infant mortality and pregnancy losses, while unregulated mining and mineral extraction had compounded the environmental and public health challenges confronting communities.

He lamented that heavy-metal contamination of critical water bodies, extensive land degradation and hazardous child labour had become increasingly associated with poorly regulated extractive activities, describing the situation as a crisis requiring urgent collective action.

Fagbohun therefore called on governments, communities, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to confront the worsening environmental challenges, declaring the programme open.

Earlier, the Executive Director and Board Chairman of EDEN, Chima Williams, SAN, said the 56-page report was the first of its kind by civil society organisations in Nigeria to comprehensively document environmental challenges across the country from the perspective of affected communities.

Williams said the report examined environmental problems across Nigeria, including resource-related challenges, weaknesses in legislative and legal frameworks, and the consequences of failing to properly protect the environment.

He described the publication as a “call for action” for civil society actors, community leaders and governments at the federal, state and local levels to collectively develop solutions to the country’s environmental crisis.

Reviewing the report, former Clerk of the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Vivien Njemanze, said its objective went beyond documenting statistics, stressing that it was designed to make Nigerians understand how environmental destruction affects everyone.

Njemanze, who is also founder of the Vivien Nonyelum Njemanze Foundation, said the greatest threat to Nigeria’s environmental sustainability was not monumental natural disasters but human activities and inactions that were steadily destroying the country’s ecological systems.

She listed biodiversity loss, degraded lands, gully erosion, ocean surges, coastal erosion, drought and desertification among the growing environmental threats contributing to worsening climate change impacts and conflicts.

Meanwhile, EDEN honoured three late Nigerians posthumously for their contributions to environmental and social justice.

They were former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Festus Iyayi; renowned dramatist and activist, Comrade Jonathan Ihonde; and Niger Delta environmental and human rights advocate, Barrister Oronto Natei Douglas.

Williams said the three men represented different dimensions of activism and had contributed immensely to the struggle for justice, human dignity and environmental protection in Nigeria.