Oil Spillage - Umuogwa Community Demands N18 Billion

Orlu — Umuogwa-Umuodebi Awara Community in Ohaji/ Egbema LGA of Imo has staged a peaceful demonstration to compel, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) operating in its area to pay the community the sum of N18bn.
The N18bn was for the damage caused by the six year old oil spillage on their land which they insisted has rendered the community known for farming economically useless.
Speaking to journalists, the Community Leader and Spokesman, Mr. Uche Ogbonna attributed the cause of the oil spillage which took place in 2004 to corrosion of pipes and equipment noting that since the year mentioned above, that the company has never made any attempt to compensate the community .

He stressed that when it happened, they reported the incident to the company, but they kept deaf ears to it adding that every other effort made by their reports to Imo State Environmental Protection Agency (ISEPA) and other agencies on the matter have not yielded any dividend.
He contended that for the period of six years that hunger has ravaged the community as the spillage has made their land arid.
He also stated that four out of the men who were detailed to go to the site and cost the level of damage got drowned.
He told newsmen that all efforts to settle with Shell BP have failed because the company was not not ready for negotiation with the community.