How destruction of illegal refining sites worsen pollution in N’Delta
Over the years, toxic fumes and high deposit of hydrocarbon in the ecosystem are the major challenges most Niger Delta communities contend with daily as a result of pollution from the destruction and confiscation of stolen crude and illegal refining sites by government forces. Weekend Trust recalls that the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, […]
Over the years, toxic fumes and high deposit of hydrocarbon in the ecosystem are the major challenges most Niger Delta communities contend with daily as a result of pollution from the destruction and confiscation of stolen crude and illegal refining sites by government forces.
Weekend Trust recalls that the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, in its report, disclosed that the lives of 16,000 infants living in the Niger Delta region are at risk annually.
It was learnt that Lasukugbene community in Southern Ijaw Local government Area lost three persons. Their deaths were linked to carbon emissions and soot inhalation, which occurred as a result of pollution.
Most communities in Niger Delta battle severe air and water pollution, including contaminated water sources, farmlands and the entire ecosystem. This situation worsens on a daily basis as a result of the unhealthy way security operatives dispose seized crude from suspected oil thieves, as well as destruction of illegal refining sites.
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Weekend Trust observed that operatives of Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) constantly burn illegal refining sites and dispose of seized products to rivers and farmlands.
A local fisherman from Lasukugbene, Elvis Perekene, lamented the pollution that has destroyed aquatic life in their rivers, which also affects the livelihood of the people, mostly in fishing and farming.
He said the constant setting of fire on illegal refining sites and spilling seized products into the river was causing huge havoc on the environment and affecting the health of the people.
He said, “Every night the sky burns, the air we breathe is heavy, the rivers that feed us are dark, and the silence of our creeks has become a cry for help. This is not just smoke; it is the price of oil wealth paid daily by our people. It is unfortunate that government is fighting oil theft without any consideration for human safety.
“Fishes have all died. Civil Defence operatives will come here and burst bags of ‘stolen crude’ into the river and it will flow to the stream that several communities are drinking from. How will it not affect the health of the people? Before now, we were complaining of oil spill from the facilities of the oil companies, but now, it is a man-made pollution.
“The Nigerian government should be humane in the actions they take. Why don’t they return the stolen crude to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to better refine it and sell for government to make money? Why don’t they even sell to filling stations if those people have refined it properly?
“Go to the farmlands, most places have been burnt down by troops in the name of destroying stolen crude. Is this how it is being done in the advanced world? Why are Nigerian things always rude and crude?”
A farmer in Emeyal community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Ebimitimo Kuko, told Weekend Trust that although the people don’t support crude theft or illegal refining, if the hoodlums take over the forests and creeks around them to set up their camps, they can do little in confronting them.
He said security forces should always consider human safety while disposing of the alleged stolen crude rather than littering it around the environment and causing pollution for the people living in the area.
He said most of their farmlands had been polluted by crude and burning of bunkering sites.
“Most of the people living here are suffering from lung problem because they are inhaling toxic carbons. The water we drink and the fish we eat are polluted. I don’t even know if the crops we harvest and eat here are also polluted.
“If there is any way government forces can handle this thing – maybe convert the seized crude to use or sell it to filling stations – it will save us from this pollution.
“Harmattan has already started. If you come to this community sometime in December or January, you will notice that if you wear white cloths and stay here for two or three hours, it will be stained with black substance. You will also notice black soots all over your body. Imagine what people will inhale,” he said.
Trust Timi, an indigene of Ukubie, who lamented the impact of pollution in their community, said most of respiratory issues among the people were caused by the crude way of disposing ‘stolen crude.’
He said, “Crude oil is flowing through my paternal community, Ukubie in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. Anyone can see the thickness. It is destroying aquatic lives and our means of livelihood. We don’t have potable water in this community.
“Some persons take the risk of drinking from our polluted river. And our livelihood as fishermen and women is from this river. Most of the times, we don’t know if the flowing crude is as a result of oil spill or caused by the way our government agents dispose seized products.
“We plead with them to adopt the best practices in discharging their responsibilities and not act in a way that endangers the environment and constitutes risk to human and aquatic lives.”
Our correspondent who visited some communities in Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Delta states reports that troops from the military and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) always burn seized tankers with crude products inside, in addition to burning illegal refining sites and spilling seized crude into the river.
A trip from the East-West road – Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom State to Ogoni, Emuoha, Elele to Mbiama in Rivers State – and Zarama, Odi in Bayelsa State to Patani in Delta – reveals the extent of destruction on various communities.
Although most residents of Niger Delta are applauding the commitment of the troops and surveillance contractors, especially Tantita Security and Pipeline Infrastructures Nigeria Limited (PINL), in curbing the activities of illegal oil bunkering, they are of the opinion that seized products should be channeled back to the NNPCL for proper utilisation instead of burning or spilling it into the river to worsen pollution.
Weekend Trust gathered that between January and May, 2025, security agents have destroyed over 100 illegal refining sites and recovered over 589,000 litres of stolen products in its fight against oil theft and pipeline vandalism in Niger Delta.
The 115 Special Operations Group (115 SOG), which hosts the Air Component of Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), carried out the operations.
The operations, which were targeted at oil-producing states, including Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River, succeeded in destroying more than 100 illegal refining sites, 53 boats, 74 cooking tanks, two crude oil reservoirs and several transport vehicles.
Also, on November 24, authorities of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, said its troops successfully recovered 109,000 litres of stolen crude products worth N150 million and arrested four suspected oil thieves in Niger Delta.
The acting Deputy Director, 6 Division, Army Public Relations, Lieutenant-Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, in a statement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, noted that the troops, on severed operations carried out between 10 and 23 November 2025 in Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom states, destroyed several illegal refining sites.
Traditional ruler laments loss of 3 nephews to pollution
Speaking with Weekend Trust about the devastating effects of pollution, especially from man-made causes, a traditional ruler from Lasukugbene, Chief Zion D. Kientei, lamented how he lost three nephews to the effect of carbon emission and soot, which occurred as a result of pollution.
Kientei, who is the chairman of the Council of Chiefs in Lasukugbene, said the problem was not peculiar to his community and its people but the entire Niger Delta region. He advised the government to always refine confiscated stolen crude for economic benefits.
He said: “Fortunately for our community, we are host to two indigenous oil companies; and they have started operations in the community right now, although they want to be loading the crude directly from the well.
“There is a saying that two wrongs cannot make a right. It is expected that seized crude or refined products would be taken to a safe site rather than burning it and sending toxics substances into the atmosphere.
“The government should build reservoirs where they can store these things and send them back to the NNPC. Our environment is in danger.
“Health-wise, the effect of this pollution has affected the people of this community terribly. Three of my nephews died from lung-infected sicknesses. In the hospital, one of them was bringing out something like dark mucus from his lungs. I can’t even explain it. We also understand that there is methane; that is why I am strict with the company operating in my community. It should operate according to best practices because if anything goes wrong in their facilities, it is going to affect my people.
“It has not been easy with my people, most especially on respiratory diseases. It is also affecting the childbearing of our women as many of them give birth to deformed children.
“Let the government create a reservoir somewhere so that when they confiscate these products from illegal operators, they would take it there and connect to the NNPCL. I think it is not too much. However, I know that the fight to curb illegal refining is strong. I give kudos to Tantita, PINL and the rest, they are doing great jobs.”
Environmentalists speak
Some renowned environmental activists in Niger Delta who spoke on the situation want the government to auction tankers and other vehicles seized from oil thieves and invest the money into security fund, with the aim of using it to fight other security concerns in the country.
The executive director of the Youth and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC), Nigeria, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene said, “The destruction of illegally refining sites has indeed worsened pollution in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It has caused massive destruction, contributed to sicknesses and caused the people so much pain.
“Whenever they destroy illegally refined products, it complicates the already fragile Niger Delta environment. That we are no more shouting about soot doesn’t mean that it has stopped. However, it has reduced drastically.
“My recommendation is that they should try and safely dispose of the products they confiscate on water. At the Port Harcourt Refinery we have a tank they can put those things so that we can channel the products and empty it to where they can use it. Also, they can auction those badges they set ablaze and use the money to support the fight against illegal refineries and organised crimes in Niger Delta if that happen. I believe it will help to save the environment and water bodies. The cleanup of the Niger Delta is still far from being achieved.”
An environmental rights defender based in Niger Delta and an indigene of Ogoni land, Mr Celestine Akpobari, urged the government to return the seized crude to the owners for proper utilisation.
He said: “The way they destroy those products and illegal refining sites, they are contributing to the mess that our environment receives. It is a very terrible manner of disposing waste. All the crude oil has fingerprints; why not get experts to run a test on it and return it to their companies. If it is coming from Agip, you send it to Agip, if it is coming from Total, you send it to Total, and if it is coming from Shell, you send it to Shell.
“Why do you do all these nonsense to cover up the crude you are stealing? They will just burn a little to cover up all the nonsense they are doing. It is not the proper thing to do. People are suffering. There are health hazards. Women are giving birth to disabled children, young girls at the age of 20 are going into early menopause, and the system of the men is no longer working because of heavy hydrocarbon in the air. When they set those things on fire, they increase the rate of hydrocarbon in the air.
“A UNEP report in Ogoni stated that the water we drink was 1,000 times worse than the level recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). I am sure that if they were to conduct a new audit in Ogoni now, it will be five times worse than what they saw last time. That is happening because of some of these ways the military men expose waste.”
A human rights activist, Comrade David West Benewarie David, also said seized petroleum products should be put to use rather than destroying them to cause harm to the society.
He said: “I think the manner they are destroying those trucks and the illegal refining sites is not the best, especially taking its environmental impact into cognizance.
“I have seen places where they destroyed illegal bunkering sites and witnessed how they did it. I have also seen a confiscated truck along the East-West road being destroyed by the Nigerian Army; and as far as I am concerned, they are rather creating more pollution to the environment by creating the same soot we are complaining of. I am of the view that rather than destroying these things in a crude manner, why not siphon the products and put back into the society for people to use?
“At the illegal bunkering sites, they should rather gather the products left behind by artisanal refiners while running away and put it into use rather than setting the whole place ablaze. The moment they start burning those things, you would see how thick the flames are. Those things constitute environmental hazard to the people living within that environment. What about our water?
“There are better ways to do it. The Nigerian government must decease from this archaic and analog pattern of destroying crude oil. It is not the best. The explosion alone is very dangerous, let alone the hazardous gaseous emissions they send to the environment. I am of the view that they should look for better ways to do this thing to save our environment.
It contributes to rising cases of cancer – Medical expert
A medical doctor from the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Okolobiri, Erefagha Jacob, said the pollution caused by the crude way of disposing seized crude oil products and destruction of illegal refining sites contributed to the rising cases of cancer and other life-threatening diseases in Niger Delta.
Dr Jacob said destroying illegal refining sites through burning or bursting pipelines to extract crude would usually take toxic carbons to the environment.
“The impact of such activities is severe to the environment. Government must adopt the best practices in doing it so that it will not endanger the environment. Burning or spilling those products into the river takes the pollution back to the environment. When those heavy metals go back to the environment, they bring a lot of effects and cause a lot of damages to aquatic lives and human health.
“Some of the components of crude oil are very dangerous to human health. It can cause cancer and so many dangers to people who come in contact with it.
“It is also a big danger to plants as many of them don’t survive because the situation makes the soil more acidic. It affects the ecosystem.
“I know it is some people’s source of livelihood; they use it to make money, but as much as you want to make money, don’t also forget that lives matter.
“From what I have noticed – although I have not done a study on this – because of pollution, lifespan in Niger Delta is between 40 and 50 years,” he said.