Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Chair of the Niger Delta Environmental Justice Lawyers’ Network, says presidential candidates should tell Nigerians their plans for the Niger Delta ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Agbakoba said the candidates were yet to come up with a defined plan for the region in their manifestos.
He spoke on Wednesday in Lagos against the backdrop of the death of Miss Joy Amos, who died from an explosion in her community in Rivers.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the late Amos succumbed to severe, extensive burns sustained during a devastating gas explosion in her residence on Sept. 3, in Billie Community, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The explosion devastated her residential structures and shattered windows.
Speaking on the topic: ” An Agenda for an Environmental Recovery Compact for Nigeria’s 2027 Presidential Candidates” Agbakoba said that the death of Amos has again put the issue of neglect of the Niger Delta on the front burner.
“We are yet to see any of the candidates speaking on what they plan for the region in spite of the fact that over 90 per cent of the nation’s resources come from there, yet the people are suffering massive devastation and neglect.
“There are over 400 communities in the Niger Delta, but very few are being mentioned. The environmental degradation has continued through various administrations, and it is time for Nigerians to hold candidates accountable for their pledge after the elections.
“Oil was first struck in Oloibiri in 1956, and since then, the Niger Delta has borne the environmental cost of Nigeria’s oil economy.
“The record is not in dispute. The Ogoni struggle, the work of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Amnesty International’s investigations and successive inquiries, reports and court decisions reach the same findings.”
According to Agbakoba, the records document cumulative pollution, weak prevention and enforcement, delayed or inadequate remediation, and disputed spill investigations, harm to health and livelihoods, and a deep erosion of trust.
“Decades of reports have produced few lasting results. Now is the time to have those who wish to administer Nigeria tell us how they intend to implement the reports and a timeline if they are elected.
“Joy Amos’ death, and the decades of neglect behind it, are why the forum is putting the question to the candidates now.
“The next dispensation must not treat the Niger Delta as one more file to be managed. It must make the region’s recovery a national priority, with clear leadership, firm deadlines and a single institution answerable for results.”
The senior advocate said the forum’s position is that the findings and recommendations of the past decades must be finally implemented.
“These go back to the Willink Commission (1958) Report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (2023), among others.
“We propose that a Nigeria Delta Environmental Restoration and Compensation Authority be established by statute to review and implement these reports, with the President setting clear timelines for action,” he said.
Speaking on the death of Amos, Agbakoba
called for an independent full medical autopsy and forensic inquiry into the explosion that resulted in her death in Billie Community of Rivers.
Agbakoba said that the death of Joy Amos cannot be dismissed as a domestic accident.
“The death is the direct fatal consequence of systemic negligence and persistent corporate and state inaction on oil and gas pollution occurring daily in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
‘For over a year, the people of Bille Kingdom have been forced to coexist with volatile, hazardous emissions bubbling through their soil, water sources and residential areas
“In spite of months of documented warnings from community members, scientific reports highlighting critical levels of methane gas, and sustained advocacy from civil society organisations, the response from Nigerian regulatory bodies has been inadequate.
“During a recent fact-finding mission embarked on by members of this network on Sept. 17, experts observed extensive ecological destruction, waterways saturated with toxic gases, fire explosions, and a population breathing poisoned air and accumulating toxic gases in their bodies.
“The situation in Bille is no longer a localised environmental disaster. The continued refusal of oil operators and regulatory bodies to isolate and seal the source of gas emissions constitutes active endangerment of human life and violation of constitutional rights.
“We demand the immediate deployment of specialised technical teams to identify, isolate and permanently seal the source of gas seepage, emergency temporary relocation of affected residents and a comprehensive restoration programme for them,” he added.
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