1st July Youths in Eket and Esit Eket in Akwa Ibom on Monday staged peaceful protests against fresh oil spills in Nkpana community from a Mobil facility i
1st July Youths in Eket and Esit Eket in Akwa Ibom on Monday staged peaceful protests against fresh oil spills in Nkpana community from a Mobil facility in Ibeno.
The youths numbering more than 500 protested on major streets in Eket, including the Marina and Terminal roads.
The protesters, under the ages of Core Youth Forum, carried placards with inscriptions: “Oil spill is killing our aquatic life’’, “No compensation for oil spill” and “Enough of this oil spillage,’’ among others.
Mr Godwin Peter, the spokesman of the protesters, said the spill occurred on Saturday and occupied communities along the spill line on Sunday.
He said the spill had devastated aquatic life and destroyed fishing equipment, among others.
Peter appealed to Mobil to urgently clean up the environment.
The youths threatened to disrupt Mobil activities if their demands, which included immediate clean up and compensation, were not met.
Also reacting, Mr Inyang Ekong, the Secretary of the Artisanal Fishermen Association of Nigeria, Akwa Ibom Branch, noted that fishing had been suspended in the area as a result of the spill.
He said that fish would be scarce in the state and appealed to Mobil to replace its old pipes to forestall further occurrence.
Ekong said the spill would cause untold hardships to the people of Ibeno.
When contacted, Mr Akaninyene Esiere, the Manager of Public and Government Affairs at the Qua Iboe Terminal of Mobil, confirmed the incident.
“We have confirmed a liquid release from our Qua Iboe terminal on Sunday, June 29, following serious weather conditions and lightning strikes over the area at the weekend. We have activated our emergency response systems to contain the release. All relevant regulatory authorities and community leaders have been notified.We will continue to work with the community to allow progress in the effort by Mobil to contain the spill,’’ he said.
Esiere said that Mobil was committed to safe environment during its operations.