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ERA Applauds Rivers Govt’s Actions Against Oil Theft, Soot Pollution

Published

4 years ago

January 19, 2022

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has applauded the current action by the Rivers State Government to address the vexed issues of oil theft and refining of stolen crude oil and the consequent release of soot into the environment.

Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, Executive Director, ERA/FoEN, who made the applaud in a statement made available to INFO DAILY on Wednesday by Nosa Tokunbo, spokesperson of the organisation, stated that “Although the current action of the Rivers State government is a welcomed respite for the people of the state, more still needs to be done.

While calling for the development of a holistic framework that would address both the supply of artisanal products and the high demands for these products in communities, Dr. Ojo identified rising cost of living, unemployment, and severe impact from hydrocarbon pollution on rural livelihoods as parts of the problem the menace has caused in the society.

He said, “There is the need for providing alternative income generation sources for these youths to discourage them from the illegal act, hence Governments at all levels must as a matter of necessity diversify our economy from oil and gas dependence and towards a transition to renewable energy sources such as solar mini-grid and off-grid systems.”

He continues, “Although artisanal refining of stolen crude oil is indicated as the current accelerator of soot and ambient air pollution in the Niger Delta region, it is also important to point out that decades of reckless exploration and production activities by multinational companies such as Shell, ill maintained oil pipelines and facilities, routine gas flaring and lax regulatory framework are responsible for the dangerous situation in which millions of people who reside in the Niger Delta region now find themselves.

“A 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on ambient air pollution, states that air pollution around the world is responsible for 4.2 million premature deaths globally every year. The report further states that exposure to air pollution is also responsible for increasing rates of stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer.”

The Environmental group lamented that hospitals across Rivers State are reporting a marked uptick in patients presenting with respiratory illnesses especially young children whose lungs are unable to withstand the constant poisoning from air pollution.

“There are also reports of increase in patients suffering severe burns from explosions resulting from utilizing improperly refined kerosene from artisanal refining processes.”

The environmental Organisation recalled that civil society groups, local communities, the media, and youths under the auspices of the Young Friends of the Earth Nigeria (YFoEN), had in the last five years been engaged in sustained research and advocacy with the aim of getting the different tiers of governments and its regulatory institutions to take decisive actions to halt the persistent ambient air pollution witnessed in Rivers state.

It added that that four years after local communities, civic groups, the media and youths dissatisfied by government’s refusal to act, protested on the streets of Port Harcourt and to the offices of the governor, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Shell; the government of Rivers State finally decided to take the first tentative steps on the road to dealing with this hydra-headed monster.

Headline

Gunmen On Motorbikes Kill 22 At Baptism Ceremony In Niger

Published

20 hours ago

September 17, 2025

Editor

Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead 22 villagers in western Niger, most attending a baptism ceremony, local media and other sources said Tuesday.

The shootings happened on Monday in the Tillaberi region, near Burkina Faso and Mali, where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group (IS) are active.

A resident of the area told AFP that 15 people were killed first at a baptism ceremony in Takoubatt village.

“The attackers then went to the outskirts of Takoubatt where they killed seven other people,” said the resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Local media outlet Elmaestro TV reported a “gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification”.

“Once again, the Tillaberi region has been struck by barbarism, plunging innocent families into mourning and despair,” Nigerien human rights campaigner Maikoul Zodi said on social media.

Niger’s military leaders, who came to power two years ago in a coup, have struggled to contain jihadist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence there.

Around 20 soldiers were killed in the region last week.

Human Rights Watch has urged Niger authorities to “do more to protect” civilians against deadly attacks.

The rights monitoring group estimates that the Islamic State group has “summarily executed” more than 127 villagers and Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi in five attacks since March.

Meanwhile, the NGO ACLED, which tracks conflict victims worldwide, says around 1,800 people have been killed in attacks in Niger since October 2024 — three-quarters of them in Tillaberi.

Niger and its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, also ruled by military coup leaders who claim to pursue a sovereignist policy, have expelled the French and American armies that were fighting alongside them against jihadism.

AFP

Headline

Serbia Indicts Ex-minister, 12 Others Over Train Station Tragedy

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Serbian prosecutors filed an updated indictment on Tuesday against 13 people, including a former minister, over a fatal railway station roof collapse that has triggered a wave of anti-government protests.

The prosecution said all those indicted, among them former construction minister Goran Vesic, face charges of “serious crimes against public safety” over the tragedy that killed 16 people last November.

“The indictment proposes that the Higher Court in Novi Sad order custody for all the defendants,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The roof collapse at the newly renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, became a symbol of entrenched corruption and sparked almost daily protests.

Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad initially filed an indictment at the end of December, but judges returned it in April, requesting more information.

The accused were released or placed under house arrest following the decision.

The prosecutor’s office said it had complied with the judge’s request and had now completed the supplementary investigation.

The prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption in Belgrade is leading a separate, independent investigation into the tragedy.

That investigation is focused on 13 people, including Vesic and another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic, who headed the Construction Ministry before him.

In March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) launched a third, separate investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds for the station’s reconstruction.

AFP

Headline

Kazakhstan Bans Forced Marriage, Bride Kidnapping

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Kazakhstan has banned forced marriages and bride kidnappings through a law that came into effect Tuesday in the Central Asian country, where the practice persists despite new attention being paid to women’s rights.

Forcing someone to marry is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kazakh police said in a statement.

“These changes are aimed at preventing forced marriages and protecting vulnerable categories of citizens, especially women and adolescents,” it added.

Bride kidnappings have also been outlawed.

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“Previously, a person who voluntarily released a kidnapped person could expect to be released from criminal liability. Now this possibility has been eliminated,” the police said.

There are no reliable statistics of forced marriage cases across the country, with no separate article in the criminal code prohibiting it until now.

A Kazakh lawmaker said earlier this year that the police had received 214 such complaints over the past three years.

The custom is also present in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, where it mostly goes unpunished due to indifferent law enforcement and stigma surrounding whistleblowers.

The issue of women’s rights in Kazakhstan gained media attention in 2023 following the murder of a woman by her husband, a former minister, a case that shocked Kazakh society and prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to react.

“Some people hide behind so-called traditions and try to impose the practice of wife stealing. This blatant obscurantism cannot be justified,” Tokayev said last year.

AFP