Tori of Rivers State community insed Emohua wia oil spill spoil dia drinking water

Since 2019 naim pipo for Omoviri community for Rumuekpe, Emohua local goment area begin notice oil spill for di Sombreiro river wey dey pass through dia village.

"We never see water to drink, talk less of di one to take baff", na wetin Mrs Paulina Eze tell BBC Pidgin.

She say sake of dis oil spill, dem dey suffer as no drinking water dey again since dem use to drink water from di Sombreiro river.

"Now na inside bush we dey go find fresh water to drink as dis oil don spoil our river water. Before we use to come baff, wash clothes and do oda tins for dis river but wit dis oil, we no fit again."

Madam Paulina add say di oil spill dey also affect di farmland as wetin dem plant no dey do well, but more importantly, dem no get any borehole water, school or hospital. She come beg goment and oda agencies to come help provide borehole water so dem fit see water to drink.

'All di fish don run comot, nothing fit live inside dis oil water'

Excellent Eze, di community development Chairman for Omoviri say dem don report di oil spill to di Emohua local goment council and some of di oil companies wey dey operate for di community as well as di National Oil Detection and Response Agency NOSDRA to come check wetin dey happen as dem no know wia di oil dey spill from, but till now dem never get any response from dem.

Eze say oil spill don also affect other economic activities like fishing as no fish dey di water again.

"Before our women dey come soak cassava for di river but e no for do am again. Even di sand dredging business wey used to dey don stop sake of di oil wey don spoil di area so we no fit dive to get di sand.

No fish again. Before as you come you go see as di fish dey jump for di water but now no fish again as nothing fit live inside dis water wey oil don cover so.

So we go like make goment come do borehole for us make we get water to drink first den see way to clean up di oil spill for di river as na di river we dey take survive."

Many of di women for di community dey come scoop di crude oil as e spill for di water as dem believe say e allegedly dey cure sickness, but dem say di strong smell of di crude oil as e spill for di water so dey also give dem sickness for body.

Wen BBC Pidgin reach out to di tok-tok pesin for di National Oil Detection and Response Agency inside Rivers State to find out wetin dem dey do about dis issue, dem no respond to our phone call.

Make you check back later as we go update dis story wit di side of di Rivers State goment.