Farmers impacted by Kolo Creek spill incident in Bayelsa may sue Shell

The farmers complained that members of a joint investigation committee to probe the cause and impact of the spill excluded their farms, despite efforts to draw the attention of the team to the impacted areas.According to one of the fish farmers, Mr Aku Aseimo, whose three ponds were impacted, the affected farmers numbering over 50 […]

The farmers complained that members of a joint investigation committee to probe the cause and impact of the spill excluded their farms, despite efforts to draw the attention of the team to the impacted areas.
According to one of the fish farmers, Mr Aku Aseimo, whose three ponds were impacted, the affected farmers numbering over 50 have resolved to seek legal redress, following the adamant posture of the SPD.
Aseimo said: “This is a clear case of the strong and rich oil firm against the weak and poor farmers. They are claiming that the spill was caused by sabotage and abandoned the polluted environment.
“The regulations which they rely on to absolve themselves clearly stated that the operator of the field where pollution occurs cleans up the site, irrespective of the cause. But SPDC officials declined to capture our farms as impacted areas.
“We have always believed that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man, and we shall tell the courts that the spill was as a result of negligence by SPDC surveillance contractors deployed to guard the facility.
“We have decided not to resort to self help but to seek justice and we are appealing to public interest organisations to come to our aid, we are currently counting our losses.”
The farmers, comprising fish farmers, banana as well as plantain plantation owners,  appealed to Bayelsa State Government to prevail on the oil firm to clean up the areas and compensate them.
Bayelsa State Commissioner for Environment, Mr Iniruo Wills, said that the government would investigate the reported exclusion of impacted sites.
However, Mr Precious Okoloba, head of media relations in SPDC, said that the oil firm would stand by the report of the JIV report that allegedly excluded vast parts of impacted areas, adding: “The JIV clearly states the cause and area of impact.
“Under Nigerian oil and gas regulations, the JIV determines the cause and impact of spill incidents. The investigation team which visited the site of the Kolo Creek spill on April 16 concluded that the spill was caused by sabotage.”