Massive oil spill threatens Bayelsa community
The Agge community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State has cried out following massive spills at the Bonga Oil Field reportedly operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company
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The Agge community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State has cried out following massive spills at the Bonga Oil Field reportedly operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
The people said the oil spill had taken over the general area constituting a threat to their health and livelihood.
The Paramount Ruler of Agge community, Chief Precious Isiaye, said the incident began on January 24th, 2026, and was still spilling crude into the river as well as saturating the atmosphere.
Isiaye lamented that since the spill began, the oil firm had not carried out any remediation in the facility, nor had it paid compensation to the community to help the sick treat themselves.
It could be recalled that in March 2025, SPDC divested its onshore assets in Nigeria to an indigenous firm, the Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited.
The aggrieved people said they had given one week ultimatum to the company and other relevant bodies to carry out proper clean up and remediation.
Chief Isiaye said: “What have we done wrong to allow the government tap from the God given resources in our Rivers, must we all die because the government is generating revenue from our backyard?
“Many people are finding it difficult breathing, just imagine drinking from the polluted source for more than three weeks now, our children are falling sick and the cost of treatment is borne by us, while other people are making money from our resources.
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“Nobody is giving us good drinking water in this community, the one that our forefathers left for us in the Rivers is what oil exploration and oil spill is damaging now, we don't have road to Agge, if we cannot drink from River, do we need to paddle canoe to Yenagoa or Warri to get drinking water?
“Our patience is getting out of hand, they should remediate the spill immediately and ensure adequate compensation to Agge people."
The woman Leader in the area, Mrs Loveth Akin, decried the spill saying it had killed aquatic animals such as dolphins, tilapias, crabs and other Sea creatures, which remained the means of livelihood in the community.
She said: “A massive oil spill from a field operated by the SPDC and its joint ventures at Bonga which occured on the 24th, January, 2026 left a trail of pollution on the trans Ramos River in Agge community, Bayelsa State and some other communities in Delta State, killing aquatic lives such as dolphins, tilapias, crabs and other Sea creatures.
“It occurred during maintenance work of the Bonga oil field and despite using dispersant measures to suppress the crude under the water, the crude oil still surfaced and flowed through the Atlantic Ocean into the Agge community.
“The people's only source of survival has been damaged by the spill, they have yet to see any compensation from the SPDC, Snepco, starling and their joint venture since the incident occurred.”
Another community Chief, Omonibekeme Ebi, said Agge despite hosting many oil companies still had no access road and depended solely on water transport.
