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HOMEF demands cleanup of abandoned Shell oil wells in Akwa Ibom – EnviroNews
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The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has called on the Federal Government, regulatory agencies and Shell Nigeria to urgently address the environmental and livelihood impacts of abandoned oil wells in communities across Ikono and Ibiono Ibom Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State.
The call followed a capacity-sharing dialogue organised under HOMEF’s Fossil Politics project in Ikot Enua community, Ikono LGA, where traditional rulers, women, men and youths from affected communities documented decades of environmental degradation, livelihood losses and what they described as official and corporate neglect.
The oil wells were reportedly drilled and capped by Shell in the 1950s after being considered commercially unviable. Although oil extraction is no longer taking place in the affected areas, residents said abandoned infrastructure continues to pose environmental, economic and security concerns.
Across eight communities in the two local government areas, participants reported declining crop yields, destruction of economic trees, polluted streams, disappearance of fish, snails and other aquatic species, damaged property, insecurity and loss of livelihoods.
At Ikot Enua, Chief Felix Vincent Udoh said oil palm seedlings were dying and agricultural productivity had declined, while species once common in the community had disappeared.
He also raised security concerns around the abandoned wells, alleging that armed men suspected to be militants visit the infrastructure to steal from it.
Udoh further said the community secured judgments against Shell at the High Court and Court of Appeal in 2013, but alleged that the company had yet to comply with the judgments more than 13 years later.
In Uyo Afaha Nkan, Barrister Trust Udoh said oil spills had contaminated community water sources and affected farming.
“We can’t plant in my farm anymore,” he said, while calling for the removal of the oil installation to allow residents to regain access to their farmlands.
Residents of Adara Abom, Ikot Idaha, Edem Udua, Ediene Atai, Ntan Mbat and Nkara Obio also reported declining fishing activities, destruction of economic trees, poor crop yields, polluted streams and damage to property, including rapidly rusting corrugated roofing sheets.
HOMEF Executive Director, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, said the situation illustrated the wider environmental and social costs of extractive activities, particularly where communities continue to bear the consequences after commercial interests in resources have ended.
“The money needed to clean up pollution in the Niger Delta is more than the money the oil companies have generated. Abandonment cannot be the final stage of extraction,” Bassey said.
He stressed that corporate and government responsibility for environmental restoration should continue even after oil production or exploration has ceased.
“The wells may have been abandoned, but responsibility cannot be abandoned. The land must be restored, the people must be heard, and the cycle of extractive harm must end,” he said.
Bassey argued that the experiences of communities in Ikono and Ibiono Ibom reinforced the need to place environmental restoration and community rights at the centre of decisions concerning petroleum infrastructure.
He cited communities including Bille, Ogoniland, Nembe, Ayetoro, Ibeno and Obodo as examples of areas that have experienced pollution, livelihood losses and struggles for environmental justice.
According to him, the appropriate response to the legacy of abandoned wells should not be renewed extraction, but decommissioning, environmental remediation, compensation and support for sustainable livelihoods.
HOMEF is therefore calling on Shell, the Federal Government, relevant regulatory agencies and the Akwa Ibom State Government to ensure compliance with the 2013 Court of Appeal decision in CA/C/70/2011 and address outstanding environmental and other issues associated with the abandoned Ikono 1 oil well.
The organisation also wants abandoned wells and associated hazardous infrastructure in affected communities to be properly assessed, decommissioned and removed.
It called for comprehensive cleanup and ecological restoration of polluted farmlands, streams, wetlands and other affected ecosystems, as well as compensation for individuals and communities that have lost farmland, crops, economic trees, fishing grounds, property and other livelihood sources.
HOMEF further urged authorities to investigate reported health concerns, provide appropriate healthcare and environmental health assessments, and establish long-term monitoring programmes in affected communities.
It also called for meaningful community participation in environmental assessments, remediation and restoration decisions, alongside support for non-extractive livelihoods such as sustainable farming, fishing, ecological restoration and other community-led economic activities.
HOMEF maintained that the abandonment of commercially unviable oil wells must not translate into the abandonment of environmental responsibility.
“The people of Ikono and Ibiono Ibom need their lands and waters restored, their rights respected, and their communities empowered to build futures that do not depend on further destruction of their ecological foundations,” the organisation said.