ERA & Our Philosophy Committees & Contacts Reports
ERA & Our Philosophy
Committees & Contacts
Reports
ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS ACTION (ERA)
They say we are vandals. How? Can Eunice be a vandal? It is the oil
people who have been vandalising our means of livelihood. It is the government
that has stolen from us and continues to do so even to this minute (voice
quivering, and tears rolling down).
In the afternoon of that Saturday, I was sleeping because I wasn't feeling
well. I was woken by the explosion and we decided to rush to the place.
When we got there , we saw many dead bodies. So we began to cry. Every
body was running here and there looking for their children. In some families,
man and wife, father and children, young men, young women, old mammas all
died.
We trace this incident to the pervasive fuel scarcity in the country.
When the thing happened, many of them didn.t know that it was fuel. They
didn.t know. Many of those who died went to look at the strange substance
coming out from the soil. They did not go to collect fuel. Many of them
went to look. Many of them live by the River Ethiope. Those who were just
coming with basins/buckets on their heads with water went to take a look
at the scene. During the look, the explosion occurred. That is why you
see the many basins. Many people reside by the River. How can a motor bike
that is using fuel in a place that is bringing out fuel cause fire?
Q: WHAT CAUSED THE FIRE?
Nobody really knows what caused that fire. Well, an helicopter belonging
to Shell hovered around there, warning people to disperse. Five minutes
after, the explosion occurred. I lost five of my cousins. One is a child
to Papa Ishan. He died. The boy is about 18 years old. Then, another lady
with a child on her back. Then another young boy aged about fifteen years
old died also. Two young ones who are about 12 years are still in hospital
today. We don.t know whether the other two will be saved. We don.t know.
What the government is saying now that these people went to vandalise the
pipeline in order to take the oil is
The people that came from this village are very many. It is very difficult
to get the exact figure. Many people rushed to look. Like when the helicopter
carrying the Head of State landed on Monday, nearly the whole village went
to look at it because they had not seen such a thing before. Many of them
here are semi-literate. Even myself, I have not been living where helicopters
are common. So if it lands I must go and look. This is why when news of
the leak made their rounds, many went to take a look. Not that they went
to collect fuel as is being alleged.
Government has power over everybody. If the pipeline had been protected
in a very safe, like with iron rods people would not get access to it even
if it was leaking. But that was not the case. Because of the pipeline was
not well protected, so many of our people perished. When the Head of State
came, he told the whole world that there was nothing he could do but that
proper medical attention should be given to those who are still alive.
In my own opinion, they should have given families of the victims some
compensation because it is not good for whole households to perish at once
just like that.
The people of Jesse are predominantly farmers. Even most of the farms
surrounding that area have been damaged. Cassava farms were the most affected.
These farms were owned mostly owned by women. The women in this community
feed the men because the men have no employment. They are all jobless.
Some of those who died were in their farms. This type of tragedy has never
occurred before. When the incident occurred, many came on bicycles from
the nearby villages to take a look at the scene. It is difficult to ascertain
the figure (of casualties) now except you go from village to village. We
have 32 villages in this clan. This is Idjerhe clan in Urhoboland.
Some of those who died were fishing in River Ethiope when the incident
occurred. The River Ethiope is just about two poles from the spot of the
explosion. Some of them were fetched out of the river. This is how it all
happened. If our government is loving it should ensure compensation to
families of the victims because the people never knew the danger surrounding
this fuel. They thought fuel is just like the water they fetch from the
river too. They only hear of fuel, fuel, fuel, fuel. That fuel passes through
the earth, so when the leak occurred, they naturally went to take a look
at it. Many innocent souls died.
ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS ACTION
214 Uselu-Lagos Road, P.O. Box 10577, Benin City, Nigeria
tel/fax + 234 52 600 165 e-mail: [email protected]
PETROL PIPELINE EXPLOSION: AN AVOIDABLE TRAGEDY
ERA ENVIRONMENTAL TESTIMONY #10
October 21, 1998
Dateline: Idjerhe
Introduction:
A tragedy of immense proportions occurred on Saturday, October, 17,
1998 inIidjerhe clan comprising 32 communities in Ethiope West Local
Government council of delta state, southern nigeria when a 16 inch
petrol pipeline linking the Warri refinery to Kaduna exploded at
Atiegwo, leaving hundreds of villagers dead and critically injuring
hundreds more in the ensuing inferno. The community most affected was
Jesse, the main town in the area. Without any investigation, the
Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the
state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the
military government alleged sabotage. But this charge has not been
substantiated. Relying on this warped thinking, the military government
of general abdusalam abubakar has ruled out compensation and the
surviving villages even fear that they may be prosecuted.
The ERA team that visited Idjerhe learnt that a leak in the high
pressure pipeline was noticed on Friday, October 16. That day, the
local people from jesse and nearby villages trooped to Atiegwo. Some to
scoop the fuel as the country has been under an unending fuel crisis
since the time of late dictator, General Sani Abacha. Others went to
the scene just to look. Some were in their farms while others were
either fishing or returning from fetching potable water from the nearby
River Ethiope when tragedy struck. A majority of the victims were women
and children.
Idjerhe is in the grip of fear and gloom. The people are reluctant to
tell their own story to challenge the picture put out by the oil
industry and the military regime that backs it.
In the testimonies that follow, ERA brings you the voice of the local
people. They are saying they are no vandals. They are saying the issue
is that of resource deprivation. They are saying that the underlying
cause of this national tragedy is official negligence. They are saying
they have lost lives and means of earning a living.
Hear the people speak:
"Can Eunice be a vandal?"
Name: Mrs Agnes Onojowo
Age: 38
Occupation: housewife
She said she was going to the farm. She left us happy. We were expecting
some red cassava for dinner. She never came back. We saw the basin of the
cassava. We saw the "karta" (head pad). We recognised our basin and her
cloth. Her body we did not see. Her voice we did not hear. The fire took
her from us.
"NOBODY KNOWS WHAT CAUSED THE FIRE"
Name: Mr. Columbus Daju
Age: 33
Occupation: Farmer
untenable. How can a great number of people, almost one thousand come
to a conclusion that they want to vandalise the oil (pipeline)?
"MY WIFE WAS KILLED IN THE FIRE"
Name: Mr. O. Ogbakpa
Age: 60
Occupation: Farmer
My house is broken. I have lost the pillar of my house. My wife. She
was killed in that fire. We married a long time ago. Yes, in 1963. We have
nine children. I don.t want to talk anymore. No talk can bring back my
wife. I am finished. What do you want me to say? It has happened. Death
has visited us and left us in sorrow.
ENVIRONMENTAL TESTIMONIES: ALLOWING THE PEOPLE SPEAK WITH THEIR OWN VOICES