Group Raises Alarm Over Worsening Health Crisis in Niger Delta Communities
By Ndifreke Enefiok, Uyo
The Niger Delta Alternatives Convergence (NDAC) has raised alarm over the worsening ecological and public health crisis in Niger Delta communities, demanding the urgent decommissioning of abandoned oil wells and stricter accountability measures for oil companies operating in the region.
NDAC, a group of environmental experts, civil society organisations, researchers, community leaders, and stakeholders across the region made this known at its 5th convergence in Uyo on May 14, 2026.
The convergence organised by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) in collaboration with other civil society organisations, was themed “Towards Decommissioning and Accountability in the Niger Delta.”
In a communique issued at the end of the convergence, the group described abandoned and leaking oil wells scattered across the Niger Delta as “crime scenes,” citing their continuous threat to lives, livelihoods, biodiversity, and public health.
The participants warned that decades after oil exploration activities ceased in some communities, several undecommissioned facilities continue to leak hydrocarbons into the environment, polluting farmlands, rivers, and groundwater sources.
Referencing incidents such as the abandoned wells in Otuabagi and the 2007 SPDC Ibibio-1 well at Ikot Ada Udo in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area, participants described it as evidence of the lingering dangers posed by aging and neglected oil infrastructure.
Participants also expressed concerns over prolonged oil well fires and blowouts, including the Ororo-1 well in Ondo State, which has reportedly burned since 2020, and the Alakiri wellhead fire in Rivers State, which has remained active since 2024, noting that these incidents are reflections of regulatory failures and weak enforcement by relevant government agencies.
The group noted that weak enforcement and inadequate oversight of environmental obligations by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), have left trails of abandoned oil wells and worsened public health despite decades of oil production.
They also noted that multinational oil companies have frequently exploited divestment arrangements and regulatory loopholes to evade environmental liabilities, leaving host communities to bear the brunt of pollution and environmental degradation.
The stakeholders further faulted provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, noting that the law has failed to adequately protect host communities or guarantee accountability for environmental destruction.
Rather, stakeholders argued, the law places undue responsibility on host communities to protect oil facilities without sufficient protection for their health, environment, and livelihoods.
The communiqué highlighted findings from previous environmental assessments, including the UNEP Ogoniland Report, the Niger Delta Environmental Survey, and the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission report, which participants said collectively established overwhelming evidence of ecological devastation and health emergencies in the region.
Participants also cited a 2024 report by Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, which reportedly found traces of 15 out of 16 petroleum hydrocarbons tested in the bodies of women in Otuabagi community.
The stakeholders called for immediate audit, decommissioning, remediation, and ecological restoration of abandoned and unsafe facilities across the Niger Delta, insisting that the federal government must take responsibility for the restoration.
They further called for the amendment of the PIA and establishment of a transparent and legally enforceable framework to regulate oil company divestment.
While advocating for transparency in the management of ecological funds and interventions, participants stressed the need for host communities to be fully involved in environmental governance and decision-making processes.