Headline

Pollution: Respect For Human, Environmental Rights Take Centre Stage As NGO Organises Capacity Building In Delta Community

Published

3 years ago

January 24, 2023

Scene of the polluted areas

By Joseph Ebi Kanjo

The need to protect and preserve the environment, and respect for human rights took centre stage in Odimodi community during a two-day capacity building seminar organised by a Non-governmental Organisation-Community Development Foundation (CODAF).

Odimodi, an agrarian and fishing community, in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, houses Ward 11 with an estimated population of five thousand (5,000), persons, in no fewer than 13 polling units.

Unfortunately, due to the oil exploration and exploitation activities of multinational companies particularly in the area of pollution of the environment and outright disregard for human rights, the fishing and agricultural activities of dwellers of this community is under threat.

It is worthy to note that the community has one government healthcare centre, which many regard as ‘non-functional.’ According to them, the healthcare centre has no personnel and for drugs apart from Paracetamol, it has no other drugs. Findings showed that the healthcare centre has only one nurse employed by the community. That is, no government staff in the healthcare centre.

Worried by all these and particularly the unabated pollution of oil-rich Odimodi and neighbouring communities and the consequent violation of rights of its dwellers, CODAF, recently organised a Town Hall Meeting/Training to enlighten community dwellers, particularly women about how they can actualise their rights and hold multinationals such as Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria Agip Oil Company and others more accountable.

For CODAF, the outright violation of human rights and pollution of the environment with no regard to the well-being of the people must stop.

Speaking at the Town Hall Meeting and enlightenment campaign, Executive Director, CODAF, Mr. Richard Benin said his organisation was concerned about the well-being of the people and the need to respect their rights. He told them that his organisation’s past activities in the community about pollution by oil companies and disregard for their rights had already caught attention of stakeholders across the globe.

“We were here in 2021, and in 2022 we were here too, and this is 2023, we are here. I want to gladly announce to your that the plight of Odimodi has caught world attention. We were here in 2022 during the COP27 which was held in Egypt, and we made a shot video and sent online. Odimodi was discussed in that meeting in Egypt. Your matter was discussed. I want to assure you that we as an NGO will not relent until the right thing is done,” Benin assured.

Group photograph of the participants at the training.

In a response on behalf of the community, Vice Chairman of Odimodi, Chief Isepagha Willie, thanked Mr. Richard and his team for fighting the course of the community by coming up with such a development, adding that it will benefit the community a lot.

He lamented that since the inception of Shell operations in the area, all what they used to have in abundance such as fishes, farm produce, etc are no more.

“Because of Shell operations, we have nothing left. All what we you used to have, we are having none. we are suffering,” lamented.

Odimodi Women Lament, Want Shell To Be Responsible

Some women of Odimodi who are majorly into fishing and farming decried Shell operations and outright disregard for their rights, as they called on the multinational to rise up to its Corporate Social Responsibility by providing jobs to indigenes of the community.

Chairlady, Odimodi community, Mrs. Silver Michael, who is a business woman said: “We are suffering. Majority of us fish to train our children in school but activities of oil companies have spoil this, we no more catch fish, and that is why I decided to go into business. We can’t farm anymore to train our children. These are the things community women rely on for a survival. We don’t even have drinkable water. We are into hunger.”

While lamenting that all efforts to make sure Shell doing the right thing had proved abortive, Mrs Michael called on the oil company to provide the woman and youths job so they can use that to cater for themselves and family.

She also urged Shell to provide fishing net, fishing hooks and other things used in fishing to those that are into fishing.

Also lamenting, Mrs Alagua Monday said due to operations of Shell, everywhere is being taken over by crude oil spill.

“Even when you deep your paddle into the water, all what you push out is crude oil, Shell has spoil our river. Fishes in the river are all affected with the crude oil spill. Had it been I know you are coming, I would have kept some fishes from the river for you. You would have seen the mystery I am talking about. Due to oil spill, we now caught fishes that are rotten from the middle to the tail while middle to the head dangle for survival. This is impossible if not for the oil spill. Nothing is working. We are dying of hunger.”

She demanded: “Shell should give us portable water because we do not have water to drink. The one we have is causing us sickness because of the oil pollution. More so, we need a standard hospital or healthcare centre. We do not have any, hence people die before they are rushed out of the community for the next hospital.”

Another pathetic story is a 72-year-old Vero Anoda, a fisherwoman who had leg infractions while fishing in a spot heavy oil spill had occurred. According to her, she fell into the spot and was rescued out. She lamented that since then her children and other well-meaning indigenes of the community have spent a lot on her. She further lamented that Shell has not deem it fit to visit her one day. She called on the oil company to come to her aid.

A cross section of women trained in Odimodi by CODAF.

On his part, former Public Relations Officer, Odimodi community, Mr. Godwin Awese, due to activities of Shell and its consequent pollution of the area, his agriculture are not productive as they ought to be.

While taking members of the NGO and the media round his farm, Awese said: “Look at this plantain three, the leaves are yellow rather than being green, and it is stunted, this is because of the crude oil pollution. It can’t grow how it ought to be. Look at this plantain fruits, it is already having a yellow colour and it is not well matured. All these anomalies is due to the pollution. We can’t get any good farm produce to the pollution,” he lamented.

Calls put out across to Shell Community Liaison Officer, Mrs Ann Utuedor, by INFO DAILY were not picked neither did she reply to SMS sent to her Cell Phone.

Headline

FULL LIST: US To Review Green Cards From 19 ‘Countries Of Concern’ After Washington Shooting

Published

23 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will review the immigration status of all permanent residents, or “Green Card” holders, from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following the attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

U.S. officials identified the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked alongside American forces in Afghanistan.

The individual was granted asylum earlier this year, not permanent residency, according to AfghanEvac, an organisation that assists Afghans resettled in the United States after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” said Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), on X.

The review follows a June executive order from President Trump classifying 19 countries as “of Identified Concern.”

The order banned entry for nearly all nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The full list of these countries is:

Afghanistan

Myanmar

Chad

Congo-Brazzaville

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Haiti

Iran

Libya

Somalia

Sudan

Yemen

A partial travel ban applies to seven additional countries, though some temporary work visas remain allowed: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Headline

Romanian Defence Minister Quits After Admitting Error In Academic Record

Published

24 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

Romania’s defence minister resigned on Friday after saying he made a “mistake” on his CV about his university education, as controversy swirled over alleged lies on his resume.

Ionut Mosteanu – who has admitted to writing on his CV that he graduated from a university he never attended – said he did not want the row “to distract” the NATO member at a time when it and Europe are “under attack from Russia”.

Romania has repeatedly seen drone fragments fall on its soil since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and reported a number of drone incursions.

On Tuesday, a drone crashed in eastern Romania, which borders Ukraine.

Romania has also accused Moscow of “hybrid attacks”, including meddling in presidential elections last year that were subsequently annulled.

“Today, I resigned from my position as minister of national defence,” Mosteanu said in a Facebook post, adding he wanted the country to be focused on its “difficult mission”.

“Romania and Europe are under attack from Russia. Our national security must be defended at all costs,” he added.

Mosteanu had come under pressure after a media investigation published on Thursday revealed that he wrote in a CV that he graduated from a university which he did not actually attend.

That same day he apologised for what he called “a mistake”.

“In a CV I quickly put together in 2016 using a template I found online, there is a mistake that I admit embarrasses me. I didn’t pay much attention to these details at the time,” he said on Facebook.

Mosteanu was appointed defence minister in June of this year, when a new pro-European government was formed after months of political turmoil.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said in a press release that he would propose economy and tourism minister Radu Miruta take over the defence portfolio in the interim.

AFP

Headline

Russia Insists Ukraine Must Cede Land Or Face Continued Military Push

Published

2 days ago

November 27, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own — otherwise his army would take it by force.

The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.

Washington has meanwhile renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalise through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.

“If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations,” Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan. “If they don’t, then we will achieve it by military means.”

Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. The issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, is among the biggest stumbling blocks in the peace process.

Another important issue in the talks are Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv says are needed to prevent Moscow from invading again in the future.

Washington’s original plan — drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies — would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.

The US pared back the original plan over the weekend following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but has not yet released the new version.

Putin, who has seen the new plan, said it could be a negotiation starter.

“Overall, we agree that it could form the basis for future agreements,” he said of the latest draft, which the US is thought to have shortened to about 20 points.

US negotiator Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow next week to discuss the revised document, Putin said.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meanwhile due to visit Kyiv later this week, Ukraine’s top presidential aide Andriy Yermak said.

– ‘Little can be done’ –

In his remarks Thursday, Putin repeated the claim that Russia had encircled the Ukrainian army in Pokrovsk and Myrnograd in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region — the most fiercely embattled area and a key target for Moscow’s forces.

“Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov are completely surrounded,” he said, using the Russian names for the cities.

Moscow was also advancing in Vovchansk and Siversk, as well as approaching the important logistic hub of Guliaipole, he added.

The Russian offensive “is practically impossible to hold back, so there is little that can be done about it”, Putin said.

Ukraine has denied Pokrovsk and Myrnograd are encircled, insisting its forces continue to hold the enemy along the front line.

Putin also questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy and said signing any agreement with him would be legally “almost impossible” at the moment, a suggestion that has drawn groans from Kyiv and its allies.

According to data analysed by AFP from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces have conquered an average of 467 square kilometres (180 square miles) each month in 2025 — a step up from 2024.

Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.