Akwa Ibom communities report polluted streams, damaged farmlands and lost livelihoods decades after Shell abandoned commercially unviable oil wells.
Seven decades after Shell drilled and capped oil wells that were considered commercially unviable in parts of Akwa Ibom State, communities in Ikono and Ibiono Ibom Local Government Areas say they are still paying the environmental and economic price of an oil operation that ended long ago.
From dying oil palm seedlings and declining harvests to polluted streams, vanishing aquatic life, lost fishing grounds and damaged property, residents of eight communities say the abandoned petroleum infrastructure has become a continuing source of hardship rather than a relic of the past.
The communities made the revelations during a capacity-sharing dialogue organised by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) under its Fossil Politics project in Ikot Enua, Ikono local government LGA, where traditional rulers, women, youths and other residents documented what they described as decades of environmental degradation and official and corporate neglect.
The wells, according to information presented at the dialogue, were drilled and subsequently capped by Shell in the 1950s after they were deemed commercially unviable. Although commercial extraction is no longer taking place in the affected areas, residents said the physical and environmental consequences have persisted.
For the communities, the problem is no longer simply about abandoned oil infrastructure. It is about farmland they can no longer cultivate, waterways they say have been compromised and livelihoods that have progressively disappeared.
At Ikot Enua, Chief Felix Vincent Udoh said the community had witnessed a marked deterioration in agricultural productivity, with oil palm seedlings reportedly dying and species that were once abundant becoming increasingly difficult to find.
He also raised security concerns around the abandoned infrastructure, alleging that armed men suspected to be militants visit the facilities to steal equipment and materials.
But beyond the environmental and security concerns, Udoh drew attention to a longstanding legal battle, saying Ikot Enua had obtained judgments against Shell at the High Court and the Court of Appeal in 2013.
He alleged that despite the judgments, the company had yet to comply with the court’s decisions more than a decade later.
In Uyo Afaha Nkan, Barrister Trust Udoh described the impact on farming in stark terms, saying pollution had affected community water sources and rendered parts of the farmland difficult to use.
“We can’t plant in my farm anymore,” he said, demanding the removal of the abandoned oil installation so residents could regain access to their farmland.
Similar accounts emerged from Adara Abom, Ikot Idaha, Edem Udua, Ediene Atai, Ntan Mbat and Nkara Obio.
Residents from the communities reported falling fishing activities, declining agricultural yields, destruction of economic trees and pollution of streams that once supported household needs and local livelihoods.
They also reported the disappearance of fish, snails and other species, while some residents complained that corrugated roofing sheets were deteriorating rapidly.
The accounts presented a picture of communities confronting the cumulative consequences of oil exploration even in areas where commercial production has long ceased.
For HOMEF Executive Director, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, the experience of the Akwa Ibom communities exposes a fundamental weakness in an extractive model in which commercial interests can end while environmental liabilities remain.
“The wells may have been abandoned, but responsibility cannot be abandoned,” Bassey said.
He argued that the burden of restoring the Niger Delta should not be determined by whether an oil company still considers a particular well or field commercially valuable.
“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,” he said.
According to him, restoration must extend beyond physical infrastructure to rebuilding ecosystems, protecting community rights and creating viable livelihoods that do not depend on continued exploitation of damaged environments.
“The land must be restored, the people must be heard, and the cycle of extractive harm must end,” Bassey said.
He said the experience of Ikono and Ibiono Ibom was consistent with the broader history of oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta, where environmental degradation, livelihood losses and demands for justice have persisted across generations.
Bassey cited communities including Bille, Ogoniland, Nembe, Ayetoro, Ibeno and Obodo, arguing that the discovery of oil had not automatically translated into sustainable development for host communities.
He rejected renewed extraction as the answer to the legacy of abandoned oil infrastructure, insisting that government and operators should first confront existing environmental liabilities.
“The priority must be to decommission hazardous infrastructure, clean up pollution, restore ecosystems, compensate affected communities and support sustainable livelihoods beyond extractivism,” he said.
HOMEF is consequently demanding action from Shell, the Federal Government, regulatory agencies and the Akwa Ibom State Government over the abandoned wells.
At the centre of its demands is the 2013 Court of Appeal judgment in case number CA/C/70/2011, which the organisation wants enforced alongside action to resolve the outstanding environmental issues associated with the abandoned Ikono 1 oil well.
It is also calling for a comprehensive assessment of abandoned oil wells and related infrastructure in Ikono and Ibiono Ibom, followed by their safe decommissioning and removal where necessary.
The foundation wants polluted farmland, streams, wetlands and other affected ecosystems cleaned up and restored, while farmers, fishermen, property owners and others whose livelihoods have been affected receive compensation.
It is further demanding investigation into reported health concerns in the communities, environmental health assessments, appropriate healthcare and long-term monitoring.
For the affected residents, however, the central issue extends beyond compensation.
They want access to productive farmland and clean water restored, damaged ecosystems rehabilitated and decisions affecting their communities made with their participation.
HOMEF also urged authorities and other stakeholders to invest in sustainable farming, fishing, ecological restoration and other community-led economic activities capable of providing livelihoods without further degrading the environment.
The organisation’s intervention has therefore brought renewed attention to a question confronting oil-producing communities across Nigeria: what happens to corporate and government responsibility when the oil stops flowing but the environmental consequences remain?
For the residents of Ikono and Ibiono Ibom, the answer is visible in their farms, streams and livelihoods.
The wells may have been capped decades ago, but, according to the communities, the environmental bill from that era remains unpaid.
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
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