Vandalised Pipeline Linked to $2.4 Billion Shell Divestment Deal Triggers Environmental Havoc in Niger Delta
A fresh wave of ecological devastation has struck the Ikata community in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, following a massive oil spill that has laid waste to farmlands and poisoned local waterways.
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Monday, involved a 14-inch pipeline located along the Okordia–Rumuekpe right-of-way. The pipeline is operated by Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (RAEC), a firm recently thrust into the national spotlight for acquiring Shell Petroleum Development Company’s (SPDC) assets in Nigeria in a controversial $2.4 billion divestment deal.
Initial investigations point to sabotage as the likely cause of the environmental catastrophe. The pipeline, according to reports, had been deliberately excavated and vandalised by unknown persons, triggering a major crude oil spill that has engulfed the community in thick pollution.
Confirmation of the spill came from the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), a frontline environmental watchdog. In a statement, its Executive Director, Dr. Fyneface Fyneface, revealed that the alert was first raised by members of the organisation’s One Million Youth Volunteers Network of Human Rights Defenders and its Crude Oil Spill Alert System (COSAS).
Dr. Fyneface painted a grim picture of the site, describing it as “heavily saturated with crude oil, destroying crops, polluting water bodies, and posing severe threats to human health and biodiversity.”
The YEAC-Nigeria has issued a strong call to the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to immediately mobilize a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to the site, with the aim of assessing the extent of damage and launching a cleanup effort. The group is also pressing for the invocation of relevant provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, to ensure those responsible for the sabotage face the full weight of the law.
“This is not just a spill; it is a crime against a community and the ecosystem it depends on,” Dr. Fyneface said.
The incident adds to a long history of oil-related environmental disasters plaguing the Niger Delta, where communities continue to suffer the consequences of both operational lapses and criminal tampering of pipelines. As oil companies continue to divest and transfer assets, environmental activists fear that accountability is becoming increasingly blurred, while host communities are left to bear the brunt of corporate and criminal negligence.
As the black tide spreads, the people of Ikata are left to count their losses — their crops, their rivers, and their future now soaked in crude.
PIONEER NEWS 