Uncontained gas killing people in Rivers Ijaw island

Prominent Ijaw rights groups at the weekend attributed mysterious deaths in Bonny, a gas-rich Ijaw Island in Rivers State, to an industrial disaster by oil and gas companies operating in the area.

The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide and the Ijaw Foward Movement (IFM) called on oil and gas industry regulators, the federal and state governments to investigate the development.

Tension enveloped the Island at the weekend following reported strange deaths of 11 people with many residents coming down with symptoms of severe malaria, loss of senses of smell and taste.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said many residents were sick noting that the air was saturated with strange smell.

The Bonny Graduate Forum (BGF) after conducting an investigation into the development raised the alarm that the 11 strange deaths occurred on the Island in the past two weeks.

The BGF in a report signed by its President, Samuel Allison; Vice-President, Rowland Hart and Secretary, Larry Igbaningo, confirmed increasing incidences of loss of taste and smell.

The group said officials of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) were already on the Island taking samples from volunteers to test for COVID-19.

 The report said: “There has been an increasing number of incidences of loss of smell and loss of taste experienced by residents of Bonny LGA. The impacted populace cuts across every strata of society but mostly adults from teenage and upwards. 

“Aside the symptoms of loss of smell and loss of taste, there have been other co-symptoms such as weakness, stooling, coughing, headache, and very minute incidences of fever. The disease burden is reported high by the medical community and encompasses every medical facility in Bonny. 

“There have been unexplainable number of deaths in the past two weeks, at the last count 11 persons have been reported dead and the cause of death is currently being investigated”.

The group also said that officials of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) were taking samples of volunteers to determine possible community spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the IYC in a statement signed by its Chairman, National Transition Implementation Committee, Kennedy Olorogun, called for thorough investigations beyond COVID-19.

Olorogun said: “We seek to draw the attention of the relevant agencies, particularly the National  Environment Standards and Enforcement Agency (NESREA) the State, Federal Government and the International Community, on the emission of poisonous and dangerous substances  in Bonny Inland.

“There are unascertained reports that, the huge industrial activities in the Inland – specifically by the Multinationals and  a major National Gas Company, the NLNG may be responsible for the polluted  environment. 

“The emitted harmful and poisonous substances in the air by this industrial related activities has thrown the inland that is a beehive of large scale – businesses and social – economic activities in a panic mood. 

“Reports emanating from the inland shows that, people are being taken to the hospital on daily basis with life threatening illnesses and severe respiratory problems. The available health facilities may have been out- stretched requiring the intervention of the state and federal government.

“The council is calling for a full – scale investigative panel comprising  eminent personalities with knowledge of the environment both locally and Internationally  to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the reported death, illnesses and strange sicknesses in the area. 

“Previous incidence of the this nature had been swept under the carpet. The council is urging the relevant authorities to be alive to their responsibility and ensure that an impact assessment is carried out”.

Also, the National Coordinator,  Ijaw Forward Movement (IFM), Alfred Kemepado, asked the companies involved in oil and gas operations on the island especially NLNG to come clean with the industrial disaster causing deaths of Ijaw people in the area.

Kemepado, a former Secretary-General of IYC, described the development as unacceptable adding that reports from the Island confirmed that air pollution led to the sickness killing the people in the area.

He, however, condemned some Ijaw leaders in the area accusing them of conniving with the multinationals on the Island to hide the real causes of the deaths.

“Ijaw people are dying mysteriously on the Island. Most of them have lost their senses of smell and taste. Other symptoms that have showed are those of acute malaria and typhoid. Most of them died despite receiving malaria and typhoid treatment.

“We gathered that fowl and unpleasant smell saturated the atmosphere before the illnesses and deaths started. We amused that some Ijaw leaders on the Island are conniving with the multinationals to play dangerous politics. They are trying to hide the real cause of these mysterious deaths. It is a shame. “We are calling on the Federal Government, even though we know it is primarily concerned with ensuring continuous flow of oil and gas, to come to the aide of Bonny people. We demand investigations because we learnt that uncontained gas led to this tragedy in Bonny”, he said.

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