Author: Abigail Asuquo

Two years after dramatic headlines accused Geo-Seismic Survey Limited, a contractor working for Sterling Exploration and Energy Production Company (SEEPCO), of devastating communities in Akwa Ibom State and walking away without compensation, an independent investigation provides a more measured account. While concerns remain—particularly around the slow pace of compensation—the sweeping claims of outright abandonment and widespread environmental destruction do not hold up when tested against fieldwork, community testimonies, expert assessments, and regulatory records. Initial reports suggested that seismic blasting in 2023 left residents of seventeen Local Government Areas (LGAs) with cracked homes, contaminated boreholes, ruined farmlands, and no hope of…