Oil Spill hits Odidi Community in Delta State as CSO calls for Audit of Corroded Pipelines in Niger Delta
By Ekemini Simon
Odidi community in Delta State has been affected by a major environmental and humanitarian disaster following a massive crude oil spill from the aging Trans Forcados Pipeline.
The spill which took place on September 8, 2025 eyewitnesses say is as a result of the failure of obsolete and severely corroded oil infrastructure.
The community reports that the spill volume has been unquantified and has left the community saturated in toxic hydrocarbons.
The Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP), a critical artery in Nigeria’s oil export network currently operated by Heritage Energy Operational Service Limited, has a long and troubled history.
According to a Wood Mackenzie report, the pipeline was originally commissioned in 1971 by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), alongside the Forcados oil terminal. This timeline places the 54-year-old infrastructure far beyond its intended operational lifespan, raising urgent questions about maintenance and regulatory oversight in one of the world’s most polluted regions.
According to the community’s Public Relations Officer, Alagoua Innocent, the leak was detected and reported to Heritage Energy immediately it was observed. “We sent them messages, we called their emergency lines,” Innocent stated, providing EnviroGyst with live videos and photographs that depict a scene of devastation.
He said farmlands, swamps, and waterways, the very lifeblood of the predominantly fishing and farming community, are now slick with a thick, black layer of crude oil. “They knew. For days, they knew, and they did nothing. Now our home is destroyed”, he added.
The community’s frustration boiled over when a Joint Investigation Visit (JVI) team, composed of representatives from the company and other regulatory bodies, finally arrived to assess the spill’s cause and impact. The team was turned back by angry residents who condemned their delayed response as negligent and disrespectful.
“This is a predictable and tragic pattern,” said Benin Richard, Executive Director of the Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF). “Companies ignore initial alerts, allowing the spill to spread. By the time they arrive for the JVI, the source point is often obscured, and they can conveniently blame ‘third-party interference’ or sabotage to avoid liability and cleanup costs. The community’s action, while drastic, is a direct result of a complete and justified breakdown in trust.”
As of press time, Heritage Energy Operational Service Limited has yet to issue an official statement regarding the cause of the spill or its response plan.
Neither the company nor relevant government agencies, including the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), have initiated any form of dialogue with the Odidi community leadership to discuss remediation, compensation, or immediate relief efforts.
In a sharp rebuke of this silence, Benin Richard, Executive Director of Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF), expressed his disappointment over the development.
“The ongoing neglect is not just irresponsible; it is a profound and intentional injustice. Heritage Energy’s failure to act on the initial alarm directly enabled this disaster, and now their silence and refusal to engage with the community compound the crime.
” Furthermore, the regulating agencies, whose mandate is to protect our people and environment, have become silent accomplices. Their absence and inaction in the face of such devastation signal a complete abdication of their duty. This is a blatant display of corporate irresponsibility and regulatory failure at its worst. The people of Odidi are not just fighting an oil spill; they are fighting against systemic abandonment.”
The Executive Director called for the immediate and comprehensive cleanup funded by the responsible company, full transparency in the JVI process to accurately determine cause and liability.
He called for a systematic audit and replacement programme for the Niger Delta’s vast network of aging, corroded pipelines and asked for adequate compensation for the people of Odidi community.