Two years after, Geo-siesmic Survey Limited, a firm contracted by Sterling Oil Limited, has left residents of 17 Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State, disarrayed and disgruntled over their earth blast operations in the year 2023 in search of all forms of hydrocarbons comprising of solid, liquid and gaseous minerals.
This activity has cost members of the affected communities their homes, sources of drinking water, farmlands, and economic trees as the company has reneged on its compensation plan with the affected communities.
Etteidung Etukessien Monday Etuk, Ayam Efa Village Head, Etinan LGA, recounted his experience, “Geo-siesmic came to our village since 2023 and destroyed our cash crops and other economic trees. They promised to bring people to carry out assessment for proper compensation. But up till now, that has not been done. They took advantage of our arable lands as those crops like cassava, palm trees, banana, plantain, pear tree, and orange trees were destroyed.
“I happened to witness one of the occasions of the blasting which I was called back from an event I wanted to attend in Abak LGA. I personally asked the company to halt their activities and queried their processes. They explained and even promised that a compensation team is following up on the earth blasting activities so as to assess immediate environmental damage for proper compensation.
“Many houses have been affected, and some cracked. In fact, there was no prior notice or consultation before their entry into our communities. They only came in like that and began operation, destroying our lands and properties. We took statistics of the people whose economic trees, houses, and other properties were affected.”
According to a visual impaired Obong Monday Oto, an old man from Ikot Inyang, still in Etinan LGA, “The blasting happened on a market day and went on for like four times. It was so intense that it shook the foundation of this house. When I heard children and women who were returning from the market shouting and running helter-skelter, I was so afraid that I asked what happened. I was informed that some people came into the village and were blasting the ground. My children later reported that there were so many cracks in the house as a result of the blasting. Even the beam of the house was seriously shakened and cracked.
“I tried to meet with these people to no avail. I reached out to the Village Head, who could not even help. Since then, no one has come to help me because my house was seriously affected, and I don’t have the money now to put into the renovation of the house.”
Madam Arit Daniel Udo, a 73 years old widow of Nkana, Etinan LGA, lamented how the only source of drinking water for her family, which is a borehole dug by her son to alleviate the burden of transporting several bags of sachet water to her in the village which do not last for more than a week due to the number of members of her family, was damaged during the earth blast operations.
“Since these people came in and have been blasting the ground, the borehole which my son dug for me and I have been drinking from it now pumps mud-water. We can no longer drink from it. We now go back to buying of sachet-water for drinking. You know, in a family where you have up to 10 persons, what that means financially in this hard time? Sometimes, my children will buy 20 bags of water, and it will finish within one week. The only thing I use the water for now is for toilet flushing because it is so muddy.
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“Initially, we were managing the water by keeping it to settle for hours and decant it into a container for drinking. But the effect was that I and members of my family were frequently down with typhoid, and medical expenses were high for my son, who now resorts to buying of sachet-water. Even the Doctor advised we stop drinking from the borehole.”
Collaborating what Madam Arit Daniel Udo said, the son, Mr. Augustine Daniel said the blasting caused a lot of vibration that shook the foundation of the house, which also affected the borehole, their only source of water.
“The borehole water which we used to drink for close to two (2) years now pumps clayish water. Even our neighbours who used to drink from it stopped and started buying sachet- water. Everyone was frequently down with typhoid until the Doctor told us not to drink from the borehole again. This is how we also spread the information to our neighbours, and they stopped drinking from it too.”
A clergy, Rev. Godwin Okon Akpan decried the effect of the operation on his property on returning from evangelism.
“My children reported that some people came and blasted our environment. They took me around to have first-hand proof of the damage to our house. They were so many cracks around the house that were not there before. That is when I knew the intensity of the operation.
“The youths were angry and even accused the village head of getting bribe from the company. When I confronted the village head, he confirmed that the company did not consult him. May be they did a central consultation which was bad and not effective as some community heads were not informed and kept in total darkness about the operation of Geo-siesmic. The youths were later informed that the company promised to come back for the evaluation of the damages and subsequent compensation. In Oron, where I preached, they were outrightly pursued from the communities because they did not consult the people before entry.”
It could be recalled that the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly received a motion on early September, 2023, containing a matter of Urgent Public Importance titled “GEO-SEISMIC SURVEY LIMITED: FLAGRANT DISREGARD FOR LABOUR LAWS, DESTRUCTION OF ECONOMIC CROPS, PROPERTY & UNDERGROUND WATER FROM BOREHOLES IN ETINAN LGA.”
This motion was brought before the house by the Member Representing Etinan State Constituency, Hon. Uduak Ekpo-ufot.
According to the motion, “Geo-Seismic Survey Limited is a firm, contracted by Sterling Oil Limited to perform pre-exploration seismic surveys in areas covered by OML 13, including the following LGAs’ in Akwa Ibom State: Mkpat Enin, Etinan, Nsit Ibom, Nsit Ubium, Etim Ekpo, Orue Offong Oruko, Eastern Obolo, Ikot Abasi, Oruk Anam, Esit Eket, Eket, Onna.
“Activities performed in the course of the seismic surveys include drilling of boreholes up to 35m to bury the dynamite & other data recording devices, underground detonation & blasting of the dynamites.
“The firm’s activities are in advanced stages of completion and have concluded operations in some LGAs outlined above, and have left the following in their trail of activities:
“~ Bypass (or inadequacy) of Environmental Impact Assessment from the Ministry of Environment resulting in cracked buildings in areas like Ayam Efa, boreholes in Ikot Inyang and Nkana now pumping brown water.
“~ Non compensation for crops enumeration and assessment of the damage(s) of the blasts.
“~ One Meter Excavations (Receiver and Shooting Lines) that traverse each LGA land mass area, in Mkpat Enin for instance, all 87 villages have been affected; some reported cases outlined below:
“● Mr. Ubong Okpok’s borehole in Nkana is completely damaged and currently pumps brown water after the blast.
“● Mr. Ikakke John’s borehole in Ikot Inyang is completely damaged and 5 buildings cracked.
“● Fish ponds in Ikot Abasi destroyed
Stop Over Guest House in Ndon Eyo, Onna LGA- half of the hotel has been cracked.
“● Elder Saturday Tim of Oruk Anam, the blast has affected his farmland
Noncompliance to compensation for crops enumeration and assessment of the damage(s) of the blasts Complaints from land owners have resulted in intimidation and eventual beating up by the security.”
However, the plea of the petition was for the leadership of the Akwa Ibom Assembly to invite for interrogation the following; Geo-Seismic Survey Limited, Federal Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Environment – Akwa Ibom State, and Relevant Stakeholders in each of the LGAs.
After consideration by the House, the matter was referred to a joint committee on Petroleum and Environment headed by Engr. Udobia Udo of Esit Eket/Ibeno State Constituency.
Joint-Committee Investigation Process shrouded in Secrecy
Every effort and attempt to know to what extent the committee has gone with the investigation of the matter committed to it meets a brick wall. The status of that matter could not be ascertain as of now by the reporter as Members of the joint committee evade questioning.
The Crest Reporter made several attempts to meet the Member Representing Esit Eket/Ibeno State Constituency, Engr. Udobia Udo, who heads the joint-Committee in office to no avail. Several calls placed to get across to him were not answered or returned. And no response to the text messages sent to his phone.
Meanwhile, contacting the Member Representing Okobo State Constituency in his office on August 7, 2023, Hon. Bassey Pius, who is the chairman of House Committee on Environment and also a member of the joint-committee, said he is not in the right standing to give response to the reporter’s queries and referred the Crest Reporter to the Member representing Esit Eket/Ibeno State Constituency who heads the joint-committee.
However, the State Ministry of Environment seem not to be aware of the matter as they have received no formal notification on the issue. This was the impression given by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Iquo Abia, who referred the reporter back to the State House Committee to ascertain the status of the matter.
CLOs Side of the Story
The Community Liaison Officer and Community Interface Coordinator, CLO/CIC of 3-D Seismic Survey/Data Acquisition of OML-13 Block, Akwa Ibom State, Engr. Ime John Inyang, a B.Eng. Mechanical Engineering Graduate of the University of Uyo, Uyo and State Coordinator, Oil & Gas Community Development Council, Community Centre International. No.13 Mambila St. off Aso Drive, Maitama, Abuja, Nigeria, is a first-hand witness of the operation. He described the operation as taking a shoddy approach in the State, ravaging communities and its environment.
Authorising to use a message from his inbox in the process of seeking justice and remediation to the affected communities, the CLO/CIC of the project, Engr. Ime John Inyang said,
“I have been in the know of this activity right from time, and as the CLO/CIC of that operation, if I don’t bring this to the State Assembly’s notice, it will not augur well to our environment and its people.
“First, I happened to be nominated to attend A PANEL REVIEW MEETING organized by The Federal Ministry Of Environment on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of 3-D Seismic Survey/Data Acquisition of OML- 13 Block, Akwa Ibom State. By Nigerian National Petroleum Company Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL).
“I discovered that the contractor, Geo Seismic Survey Limited has not done and do not want to do the EIA, even when it was pointed to them that a section of the Law has been violated and there’s a penalty for the violation, they still insisted to cut corners.
“Secondly, the so-called employment they said they gave to the affected communities is regrettable, subjecting the very few people to maltreatment and without payment.
“Thirdly, the issue of compensation: for the damages they have caused us. They still want to do without and go away with it. Like in Etinan, it is noticed that after the blast, some of our bore holes are pumping brown water after the blast, cracks in many buildings. Destroyed our farmlands, cut down trees, and wounded our bushes. These are some of the biophysical damages caused by their operations.”
The CLO said he made personal efforts, which yielded no result. He even met with the Federal Controller in Federal Ministry Of Environment, who was ready for positive action to seek redress of the negative impact of Geo-siesmic operations.
….To be continued
