Nembe Spill: HOMEF demands cleanup, compensation, accountability
Yenagoa, Sept. 2026: The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), a non-profit outfit on Tuesday demanded urgent cleanup, compensation and accountability over an oil spill at Nembe Creek in Bayelsa recently.
The spill occurred on Aug. 22 during crude oil loading operations at Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29.
The operational mishap disrupted fishing activities and threatened the livelihoods of some coastal communities in the area, the group claimed.
The facility is operated by Nembe Exploration and Production Ltd., formerly Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Ltd., within Oil Mining Lease 29 (OML 29).
The Executive Director of HOMEF, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, said identifying the cause of a spill should not end the accountability process.
Bassey said the latest incident occurred against the background of previous pollution incidents associated with OML 29.
He specifically cited the prolonged 2021 Santa Barbara Well 1 spill and wellhead blowout.
He emphasised that recurring spills should be treated as a systemic environmental governance concern rather than isolated incidents.
He said the organisation had urged Nembe Exploration and Production Ltd., the Bayelsa Government and relevant federal regulatory agencies to publish the complete JIV findings.
“The findings should include the cause, estimated volume, geographical extent and communities affected by the spill.
“HOMEF also demanded an independent and comprehensive environmental assessment of the affected waterways, mangroves, fishing grounds and settlements.
“We further called for immediate cleanup and ecological restoration, with clear timelines and transparent monitoring mechanisms.
“There is the need for urgent relief for affected households, particularly fishing families whose livelihoods had been disrupted.”
He urged the authorities to include all affected communities and fishing camps in JIVs, damage assessments, cleanup and monitoring.
Bassey called for sustained environmental and health monitoring of water, sediments, fish and other aquatic organisms.
Vice-Chairlady of Nembe Creek women, Mrs Love Mark, said the spill had made fishing nets unusable.
“We cannot go out with our fishing nets and hooks for fishing again,” Mark said.
She said a fishing net now cost between N150,000 and N170,000, making replacement difficult for affected residents.
The Paramount Ruler of Nembe Creek communities, HRH Agent Waya, said repeated pollution had severely affected the livelihood of residents.
“Due to the destruction of aquatic life, there are no more fish in the river,” Waya said.
He said fishermen now labour in vain after hours with their canoes as they often returned without any catch.
“Our women had protested at the oil facility, demanding cleanup, damage assessment and support for the affected residents.”
The Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) concluded that the leak was due to operational failure, though HOMEF, however, said the volume of crude released and the full geographical extent of the pollution remained inconclusive as of Sept.1.
