Lamo oil spill: Nigeria loses billions ...lives, crops threatened

Category: News Published on Wednesday, 20 February 2013 15:41

Nigeria is losing billions of Naira as from an oil spillage site in Lamo village of Gwagwalada area council, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Kilometer 407.5 NNPC crude oil pipeline right of way at Suma, between Gwagwalada and Kwali area councils has been spilling out crude oil for over seven days.

The spillage covered a landscape of about 2,000square metres, running into a river.

The soil around the area can no longer absorb the crude and it is now running over the surface with the force of a small stream, killing all plant life in the vicinity.

Lives in danger
 
The villagers' health is at risk as river from which they draw water for domestic use and the air in the area have been polluted.

Notwithstanding the spillage, the villagers were still seen fetching water from the polluted river  which is the only source of drinking water for the villagers, their animals and crops.

A villager who spoke with reporters, Yelo Sariki  said their lives were in danger following the spillage.

He described the situation as a serious one which could consume the whole area.

While condemning the insensitivity of the NNPC to the incident, Sariki called on the government to come to their rescue.

On the other side of the river were NNPC staff preparing to begin the process of replacing the rusty pipes, after seven days.
 
On guard

The Commandant-General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ade Abolurin who led a team to the spot said his men were on guard.

While pointing out that there have not been any incident of villagers trying to siphon fuel, he noted that the area must be protected from criminals.

"As you have seen this river, when you look at the axis of koton-Karfe, the area around Lokoja and this axis (pointing to Niger State area), and from our monitoring of the situation and surveillance, we have seen that they (vandals) normally come through the night.

"We have been here since we commenced operation. It is a terrain which we are used to."

He said the Corps may decide to build a post in the area as it has done in other critical areas "but we are also working on community cooperation."

There are two pipelines (refined and crude) running along the axis from the South to the North.