Vandalised pipelines spill oil, pollute farmlands in Edo

by nan

Oil spill caused by bunkering has polluted farmlands and the only river in Egonu community in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo, according to residents.

The residents told the News Agency of Nigeria oil thieves vandalised pipelines passing through the area, leading the oil spill that polluted the river.

Mr Isah Musa, a resident of the area, said that farmers crops had been destroyed.

“We woke up early this morning to discover that oil is floating on our river and this must have affected the animals in the river.”

Musa said that the spill was caused by a rupture on some pipelines that passed through the community.

Another resident, Mr Ibrahim Mutairu, said that the river was the only source of water for the community.

“Now that the water is polluted, we find it difficult to get water to drink and the situation has been on since two months.”

He called on  the government and other relevant agencies to deploy a surveillance team in the area to curb the menace of the activities of the bunkers.

Mutairu also called for the immediate clean up of the affected farmland and their river, to protect the people from contacting disease.

A source at the NNPC depot in Benin declined to comment on the reported oil spill, saying that he would need clearance from the corporation’s  headquarters to talk to newsmen.