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Oil Spillage: FG Set To Apply Stiffer Penalties Against Multinational Companies In Niger Delta

Published

4 years ago

November 25, 2021

Following environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region, there are indications that the Federal Government may be mulling stiffer punishments against some multinational companies involved in oil spillage in the country.

Sharon Ikeazor, the Minister of Environment, gave the hint at the weekly ministerial press briefing organized by the presidential media team on Thursday at the presidential villa, Abuja.

According to Ikeazor, talks are ongoing between the ministry and other relevant government agencies to achieve this.

She explained that a bill is being worked out to modify the law establishing the National Oil Spillage Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to build its capacity and give it “the needed teeth to bite.”

Ikeazor said, “We need to put stiffer penalties, build the capacity of NOSDRA, which is the regulatory agency in the oil sector, to be able to have the teeth to bite.

“Without enhancing their capacity and reaffirming the legal framework, getting it stronger, they can’t do much. These are areas we’re looking into. It has to stop.

“Government is working on alternative livelihood for the communities so that we can move them away from illegal activities and further polluting of the environment.”

Ikeazor said the operating company of the OML29 in Nembe, Bayelsa State, had blamed the most recent oil spill in Nigeria on sabotage by the locals.

She, however, revealed that the Santa Barbara spillage had been brought under control after several weeks the incident occurred with necessary personnel and equipment deployed to begin recovery and remediation efforts.

The minister stressed the need to put an end to artisanal refineries, which she said had continued to cause pollution in the Niger Delta.

Ikeazor said, “On the Santa Babara ITO oil spills, you remember the ministry of environment issued a statement stating what happened and the action being taken.

“We are going to have a targeted approach to illegal bunkering, tampering with oil installation and artisanal mining in the Niger Delta to get an alternative livelihood for the young people of the Niger Delta, so that they would desist from this because it’s further polluting the environment.

“I got briefings through the director of NOSDRA, and what I saw in terms of the pollution either through oil refining or illegal oil refining and otherwise the devastation of the Niger Delta is massive. As we’re cleaning up, what we’re cleaning up is minute compared to the devastation going on.

“So, it’s something that the government needs to tackle headlong. I hope they would’ve put the picture on. It was like a Hiroshima site.

“We are beyond talking and having a workshop. On the issue of penalties, I mentioned earlier the review of the NOSDRA bill. You know most of the Acts we have passed years ago. You’ll see that they will give maybe an N100,000 fine. Anyone can pay that and go back and re-pollute.”

(DAILY POST)

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Headline

Africa Coups: 10 In Five Years

Published

19 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

A military coup attempt in Benin Sunday adds to a list of such incidents on the turbulent African continent.
A group of soldiers announced that they had ousted President Patrice Talon, although his entourage said he was safe and the army was regaining control.

Here is a recap of the 10 successful coups in Africa in the last five years:

Mali

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is overthrown by five army colonels in August 2020.

In May 2021, the Malian military takes over from the civilian leaders of an interim government.
Colonel Assimi Goita, who led both coups, is sworn in as transitional president.

After promising to hold elections in February 2024, the military puts them off indefinitely, pointing to the jihadist violence plaguing the country.

In July 2025, Goita approves a law granting himself a five-year presidential mandate, renewable without election.
In September jihadists launch a fuel blockade, weakening the ruling junta.

Guinea

On September 5, 2021, mutinous troops led by lieutenant-colonel Mamady Doumbouya take over in Guinea, arresting President Alpha Conde.

Doumbouya in early November 2025 submits his candidacy ahead of December 28 elections that are meant to restore constitutional order.

Sudan

After weeks of tension between the military and civilian leaders who had shared power since the ousting of dictator Omar al-Bashir, the armed forces led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stage a new coup on October 25, 2021.

Since April 2023 war has raged between the regular armed forces led by Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by his former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.

The conflict has so far killed tens of thousands of people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso underwent two military coups in 2022.

In January that year mutinous soldiers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba arrest President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Then in September army officers announce they have dismissed Damiba. Captain Ibrahim Traore becomes transitional president, but elections he promised do not materialise. In May 2024 the junta authorises him to stay for another five years in a country wracked by Islamist violence.

Niger

On July 26, 2023, members of the presidential guard overthrow Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum, elected in 2021. General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the presidential guard, takes over.

In March 2025, the junta extends by at least five years its transitional leadership of the country which is plagued by jihadist violence.

Gabon

In Gabon, ruled for 55 years by the Bongo family, army officers on August 30, 2023 overthrow President Ali Bongo Ondimba, less than an hour after he is declared winner of an election the opposition says was fraudulent.
General Brice Oligui Nguema is named transitional president.

In April 2025 he is elected president with 94.85 percent of the vote. He is sworn in on the basis of a new constitution approved by referendum during the transition.

Madagascar

In October 2025, the military ousts Madagascar’s president Andry Rajoelina and takes power following weeks of “Gen Z” anti-government protests.

Army colonel Michael Randrianirina is sworn in as Madagascar’s new president, promising elections within 18 to 24 months.

Guinea-Bissau

In November 2025, military officers in Guinea-Bissau declare they have “total control” of the coup-prone west African country, closing its borders and suspending its electoral process three days after general elections.

The military says a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces” is taking over the leadership of the country “until further notice”.

Headline

Benin Republic Presidency Breaks Silence On ‘Military Takeover’

Published

1 day ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

Benin Republic military
Military personnel in Benin on Sunday said they had ousted President Patrice Talon, but the Presidency said he was safe and the army was regaining control.

Talon, 67, a former businessman known as the “cotton king of Cotonou,” is due to hand over power in April next year after 10 years in office marked by strong economic growth and rising jihadist violence.

West Africa has seen several coups in recent years, including in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and most recently Guinea-Bissau.

Early on Sunday, soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR) said on state television that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic.”

The signal was cut later in the morning.

Shortly after the announcement, a source close to Talon told AFP the president was safe.

“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure,” they said.

“It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”

A military source confirmed the situation was “under control” and said the coup plotters had not taken Talon’s residence or the presidential offices.

The French Embassy reported on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence in the economic capital and urged French citizens to remain indoors.

Benin has a history of coups and attempted coups.

Talon, who came to power in 2016, is due to end his second term in 2026, the constitutional maximum.

The main opposition party has been excluded from the race to succeed him, leaving the ruling party to compete against a so-called “moderate” opposition.

Talon has been praised for driving economic development but is often accused of authoritarianism.

(AFP)

Headline

JUST IN: Soldiers Announce Military Takeover Of Govt In Benin Republic

Published

1 day ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

A group of soldiers appeared on Benin’s state television on Sunday to announce the dissolution of the government in what is being described as an apparent coup, marking yet another power seizure in West Africa.

Identifying themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, the soldiers declared the removal of the president and all state institutions.

President Patrice Talon, who has been in office since 2016, was scheduled to leave office next April after the presidential election. His party’s preferred candidate, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, had been widely viewed as the frontrunner. Opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was disqualified by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have “sufficient sponsors.”

The takeover comes a month after Benin’s legislature extended the presidential term from five to seven years while retaining the two-term limit.

(AFP)