Barely weeks to the fourth anniversary of the devastating 2021 Santa Barbara oil blowout, the Opu Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State is once again grappling with another spill — this time from an 8-inch delivery line operated by Nembe Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd, formerly known as Aiteo.
The fresh leak, which occurred on October 1, 2025, near the Santa Barbara well in OML 29, has reignited fears among residents who are still recovering from the impact of the 2021 disaster that lasted more than a month before it was contained.
In a letter 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, accused the firm of poor crisis management and disregard for its host community.
According to the letter, Aiteo’s management informed the community of the spill only on October 5 — four days after the incident — through a correspondence (Ref: NEPCo/HSE-JIV/2025/04) requesting a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to be conducted on October 6.
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The Opu Nembe leadership, angered by what it described as “a show of disrespect,” rejected the proposed date and asked for the exercise to be rescheduled to October 9, 2025, to enable proper representation.
“Our clients deserve adequate notice to assemble a competent JIV team, some of whom travel from Lagos, Port Harcourt, or Yenagoa,” the letter read in part. “This ensures due diligence and prevents the manipulation of the JIV process, which has become a recurring problem.”
The community also demanded a thorough investigation into the latest spill, a comprehensive assessment of its environmental and health impact, and prompt remediation measures to protect residents whose livelihoods depend on fishing and farming.
“Beyond this spill, our clients demand a top-level engagement between the company, the community’s technical team, and regulators to establish a lasting framework that ends this continual environmental burden,” the letter added.
Aiteo, which acquired Shell Petroleum Development Company’s OML 29 in 2015, has faced several spill-related controversies in Nembe over the past decade. Many of the affected settlements, largely dependent on artisanal fishing, remain impoverished by pollution and loss of income.
Observers believe the company’s recent rebranding from Aiteo to Nembe Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd was aimed at improving its public image amid growing community distrust.
Legal Dispute Over Past Spills
Meanwhile, the Opu Nembe Kingdom is pursuing a separate legal battle against the oil firm at the Federal High Court in Yenagoa (Suit No. FHC/YNG/CS/284/2024), seeking compensation and environmental justice over three major spills recorded between 2019 and 2020.
In a recent correspondence dated October 7, 2025, and addressed to Aiteo’s legal representatives, Abdul Mohammed (SAN) and Kayode Olaosebikan of Madyan Legal Consult, Opu Nembe’s counsel — Wills and Omukoro — expressed frustration over repeated adjournments allegedly sought by the company’s lawyers.
“Our clients, who depend on oil-polluted waters for daily survival, view these delays as unnecessary and insensitive,” the letter stated. “After five years of Aiteo evading liability, further adjournments only reinforce the impression of a defendant taking the judicial process for granted.”
The community’s legal team urged Aiteo’s counsel to cooperate in ensuring the case proceeds to a timely conclusion, stressing that justice delayed amounts to justice denied.
Calls for Environmental Courts
Environmental law advocates have renewed calls for the creation of specialized environmental courts to fast-track cases of oil pollution in the Niger Delta. Bayelsa State currently has only one division of the Federal High Court, which serves as the court of first instance in petroleum-related disputes — a situation experts say contributes to chronic delays.
The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission’s 2023 report revealed that about 25 percent of all oil spills in the Niger Delta occur within the state. It also highlighted severe flaws in the Joint Investigation Visit process, including weak regulatory oversight and industry interference.
As Nembe communities brace for the latest round of environmental and legal battles, frustration continues to mount over what residents describe as “a recurring cycle of neglect, pollution, and injustice” — one that has left an enduring scar on their once-thriving creeks.
