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51 Days After, Agip Oil Spillage Remains Unattended To, Community Laments

Published

3 years ago

March 24, 2022

… Community Cries Out For Relief Materials

…HOMEF Demands Immediate Clamping Of Leakage, Compensation To Residents

Bearly two months an oil spillage owned Agip Oil Company occurred at Lasukugbene in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the spills remain unattended to, natives of the community lament.

Recall that on 24th of February 2021, a similar spill occurred in Ogboibide community in Southern Ijaw where an Agip pipeline at OML63 had a gas leak and the company could only clamp the leakage site after much waste of time.

The continuous spill has exposed health of residents of the community to danger thereby subjecting them to suffering, hardship, hunger, etc.

INFO DAILY reports that Lasukugbene community plays host to manifold pipelines and oil wells belonging to Agip Oil Company which has been operating in the community since 1974.

Lasukugbene, a predominately fishing community, has no hospital or health care facilities and relies mostly on local herbs for treatment of their ailments. They lack all basic social amenities.

According to a statement by Kome Odhomor, Media and Communication Officer, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF, a recent visit by her organistion in collaboration with Environmental Rights Action, ERA, to ascertain the level of damage done to the community by the spills, reveals that fifty-one days after the spill was recorded, no Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) has been officially carried out by the relevant authorities.

Odhomor, in the statement stated that the people of Lasukugnene lamented that the oil spill has destroyed their rivers and lands, adding that the river, which is their only source of potable water and their crops have been contaminated by the oil spill.

The statement stated that some community members described their ordeal, just as they expressed sadness over Agip’s negligence and government’s failure to regulate better and to bring succor their way.

Secretary of the community, Mr. Valiant Jackson, who spoke to the environmental organisation revealed that the spill which was discovered on 3rd February 2022 had occurred over a month earlier.

“Yesterday, 18th March, Agip sent their team to clamp the erupted pipeline without informing the community leadership or contacting anyone from the community. When we saw them and approached them to find out what they were doing , Agip accepted that the spill was actually caused by equipment failure, saying that they were doing their best to ensure that the spill was contained.

“Since the operation of Agip in the community, the only thing Agip has provided for the community is a water tank that is not working. We have no hospital, except for a small healthcare facility built by the local government. The equipment in the health centre was bought by the community and the only staff in the health centre comes only once in a while, usually during statewide immunization campaigns,.” Jackson said.

Another community woman, Josephine Tarilla, stated: “We are suffering. There are no standard healthcare facilities, water, school or light. We can no longer fish in our rivers, and the oil spill has destroyed all our fishing tools and nets.

“We call on Agip and the government to come to our aid. We are suffering as a result of the oil spill from the Agip pipeline which passes through our community. We need help and relief materials to reduce our sufferings. Since the spill occurred, almost two months now, we observe that there are rashes all over our bodies when we use the water from the river to bathe. We do not have alternative source of water. The spill is killing us here!”

“Since morning I have been on the water for fish and all I could get is this small catch of fingerlings. My nets are all soaked with oil. I cannot use them again for fishing. We are calling on Agip and the government to come to our aid to stop the problem we are facing in the community,” lamented Betty, a community woman.

Cadmus Atake-Enade, Project Lead, Fossil Politics, Health of Mother Earth Foundation who was part of the visit stated that “the spill blanketed the community’s river and swamps. It was an absolutely disheartening and scary sight.

“I wonder if there is hope for the common Niger Delta man. Communities in this region are suffering daily, there should be an immediate health and environmental audit of this place and the clean-up process should begin.”

HOMEF therefore demanded an immediate clamping of the leakage on the pipelines and replacement of all rusted pipelines in the areas.

The organisation also calls for a man health audit in the area, and the entire Niger Delta as well as payment of adequate compensations for harms suffered.

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Netanyahu Says Israel’s Strikes On Iran Have ‘Clear Support’ Of Trump

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel’s air strikes on Iran had the “clear support” of US President Donald Trump.

“Our enemy is your enemy… We’re dealing with something that will threaten all of us sooner or later. Our victory will be your victory,” Netanyahu said in a video statement addressed to Trump on the US leader’s birthday.

“This is what Israel is doing with the support, the clear support of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the American people and many others in the world.”

Headline

US Lawmaker Shot Dead, Another Wounded In Targeted Attack

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

A gunman shot two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota early Saturday, killing one and her husband and wounding the other, in what the northern US state’s governor said were politically motivated attacks.

The shootings came at a moment of deep political divisions in the United States, as thousands took to the streets in protest at the policies of Republican President Donald Trump.

The suspected assailant was still at large, officials said, with a massive manhunt underway.

Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi decried what they called “horrific violence” and said the perpetrators would be prosecuted to “the fullest extent of the law.”

State representative Melissa Hortman — the former speaker — and her husband Mark were killed at their home near Minneapolis, Governor Tim Walz told a press conference.

State senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot and wounded, the governor said, his voice breaking with emotion. He said officials remained “cautiously optimistic” they would recover.

“This was an act of targeted political violence,” Walz told reporters.

“Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.”

Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said Hoffman and his wife were shot first, and as police investigated, Hortman and her husband were shot about 90 minutes later.

The suspected gunman was able to escape during an exchange of gunfire with officers near Hortman’s residence, Evans told reporters.

“We’re actively searching for that individual right now,” he said.

– Impersonating law enforcement –

In both cases, authorities believe the assailant was impersonating a law enforcement officer.

“The suspect exploited the trust that our uniform is meant to represent,” said Bob Jacobson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

An anti-Trump rally in Minneapolis — part of the national wave of “No Kings” protests planned for Saturday — was canceled after police issued a shelter-in-place order because of the shootings.

Flyers for the protests were found in the suspect’s car, as well as a manifesto that named numerous politicians and state officials, police said.

Police are looking for a white man with brown hair, wearing black body armor over a blue shirt and blue pants, local TV station KSTP said.

“We do have the suspect’s car. Suspect is on foot,” said Mark Bruley, the police chief in Brooklyn Park, where Hortman lived.

The United States has been deeply divided since Trump returned to the White House in January.

The Republican president has drawn criticism from Democrats over his harsh deportation policy, his assault on universities and the media and a perceived flouting of limits on executive power as he pushes his agenda.

“At this precipice moment we’re on, this tragic act here in Minnesota should serve as a reminder to all of us,” Walz said.

“The democracy and the debates in the halls of Congress, in state houses, in school boards, is a way to settle our differences peacefully and move society to a better place.”

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar remembered Hortman as a friend who entered politics at the same time as her and dedicated her life to serving the state, working on issues such as women’s rights and clean energy.

“Let me be absolutely clear: this was an act of targeted political violence, and it was an attack on everything we stand for as a democracy,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “We must all condemn it.”

Minnesota’s other US senator, Tina Smith, also issued a statement condemning the shootings.

Former House member Gabby Giffords, who survived a shooting to the head in 2011 and is now a prominent advocate for the prevention of gun violence, described herself as “devastated” by the death of Hortman.

“We must protect our democracy from those who try to destroy it with a gun,” Giffords wrote on X.

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Diplomat, Wife Injured In Iran Strikes On Tel Aviv

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

Croatia’s consul in Israel and his wife were lightly injured in Iran’s missile strikes on Tel Aviv, Croatia’s Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said on Saturday.

“I am shaken by the news that our consul and his wife were injured in the attack on Tel Aviv. The building they live in was hit,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.

“I spoke with them and, fortunately, their injuries are minor and they are not in any life-threatening condition.”

Grlic Radman added that his ministry was in constant contact with the Croatian embassy in Israel and was taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its staff.

“We strongly condemn attacks on civilians and diplomatic facilities. We call for immediate de-escalation and restraint,” Grlic Radman said.

Israel on Friday launched an unprecedented attack on Iran, hitting scores of targets across the country, including nuclear and military sites and residential buildings.

Iran said 78 people were killed and 320 wounded in the first wave of Israeli strikes.

Iran retaliated with barrages of drones and missiles at Israel, killing three people and wounding dozens.

AFP