The Opu Nembe community in Bayelsa state has accused Nembe Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd, formerly known as Aiteo, of negligence foll
The Opu Nembe community in Bayelsa state has accused Nembe Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd, formerly known as Aiteo, of negligence following a fresh oil spill from the company’s 8-inch delivery line in the Nembe area of the state.
In a letter dated October 5, 2025, and addressed to the company’s Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Manager, Augustine Amaka Bisong, the community’s legal representatives, Iniruo Wills and Dr. Dickson Omukoro of Ntephe Smith and Wills, faulted Aiteo for what they described as poor crisis management and a disregard for its host community.
The lawyers stated that the firm failed to promptly notify the community of the spill, which occurred on October 1 near the Santa Barbara wellhead in OML 29.
The company, they said, only communicated the incident four days later through a correspondence (Ref: NEPCo/HSE-JIV/2025/04) proposing a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) for October 6.
The Opu Nembe leadership rejected the proposed date, insisting that adequate notice must be given to allow for proper representation during the JIV.
The community requested that the visit be rescheduled to October 9 to enable their team to participate effectively.
“Our clients deserve adequate notice to assemble a competent JIV team, some of whom travel from Lagos, Port Harcourt, or Yenagoa.
“This ensures due diligence and prevents manipulation of the JIV process, which has become a recurring problem,” the letter read.
The community further demanded a full investigation into the incident, an environmental assessment, and immediate remediation efforts to mitigate the spill’s impact on farmlands and fishing areas.
Aiteo, which acquired Shell Petroleum Development Company’s OML 29 in 2015, has been linked to several oil spills in Nembe over the past decade.
The company, recently renamed Nembe Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd, has faced repeated criticism from host communities over environmental degradation and inadequate response to pollution incidents.
Meanwhile, the Opu Nembe community is pursuing a separate suit against the company at the federal high court in Yenagoa (Suit No. FHC/YNG/CS/284/2024) over previous spills recorded between 2019 and 2020.
In another letter dated October 7, 2025, addressed to Aiteo’s legal counsel, Abdul Mohammed (SAN) and Kayode Olaosebikan of Madyan Legal Consult, the community’s lawyers expressed concern over what they described as unnecessary adjournments delaying the court proceedings.
“Our clients, who depend on oil-polluted waters for daily survival, view these delays as unnecessary and insensitive.
“After five years of Aiteo evading liability, further adjournments only reinforce the impression of a defendant taking the judicial process for granted,” the letter read.
Residents of Opu Nembe have continued to express frustration over repeated spills and their impact on fishing and farming livelihoods, describing the situation as a cycle of pollution, poverty, and neglect.
