ABANDONED OIL WELL AND THE RISKS OF INTERCOMMUNITY CONFLICTS IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION, NIGERIA

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ABANDONED OIL WELL AND THE RISKS OF INTERCOMMUNITY
CONFLICTS IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION, NIGERIA

Submission Date:

October 20, 2024,

Accepted Date:

November 12, 2024,

Published Date:

November 23, 2024

Crossref doi:

https://doi.org/10.37547/ajsshr/Volume04Issue11-19

Charles Oyibo

PhD, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Environmental Management, Niger Delta University,
Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Lawal Femi Mark Africas

University of Portharcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Ebimoboere Osoru-Jenkins

Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Environmental Management, Niger Delta University,
Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Aderonke Perpetua Ajama

PhD, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Authority Benson

PhD, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Environmental Management, Niger Delta University,
Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Intercommunity conflicts have been prevalent in many communities in Niger Delta since late 1990s. Most researchers

tend to attribute this problem to poverty, electoral malpractices and state corruption. While these issues may have

influence on intercommunity conflicts in many communities in the region, little quantitative and qualitative research

has been conducted and published on the impacts of abandoned oil wells in relation to intercommunity conflicts in

the region. This paper examines the impact of abandoned oil wells on the environment, economic and socio-cultural

lives of Oloibiri people where petroleum crude oil was first discovered in Nigeria and produced in commercial

quantities in 1956. The study adopted the purposive sampling techniques. Primary and secondary data were obtained

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from seventy participants through structured questionnaires, semi structured interviews and literature reviews. Data

were analyzed using statistical method and the results are presented in charts. The results obtained show majority of

respondents (59%, 57% & 49%), indicating that abandoned oil wells are major sources of environmental, economic and

social conflict in Oloibiri respectively. Nonetheless, opportunities exist to reduce the risk of conflict escalations. The

paper concludes with strategic recommendations. The commendations could be adopted and applied to tackle similar

circumstances in other oil producing communities in Niger Delta.

KEYWORDS

Abandoned oil wells, environment, economic, intercommunity conflicts, oil companies, Niger Delta.

INTRODUCTION

The Niger Delta Region is located in West Africa,

situated at the apex of the Gulf of Guinea, a home to

over 31 million people with distinctive traditional

heritage and linguistically diverse with more than 40

different ethnic groups. It inhabits 7.5% of the Nigeria

land mass, and covers an estimated area of 75,000km2

(Authority, 2021 & Eweje, 2006). Politically, it is

comprised of 9 states in no particular order as follows:

Bayelsa, Rivers, Imo, Akwa-Ibom, Delta, Cross River,

Ondo, Abia and Edo state. The Niger Delta has the third

largest mangrove forest in the world and the largest

mangrove forests in Africa (Aroloye, 2019). Its

ecological zones are characterized by large swamps,

mangrove forest and tropical rainforest with multiple

rivers, lakes, streams and creeks. About 12% of Niger

Delta land surface is covered by swamps, forest and

woodland areas. It is shaded with low lands, regular

brackish and fresh water and has a variety of fauna and

flora which renders the ecology delicate and very

sensitive to pollution, especially as the local population

depends on the natural environment for livelihoods

(Sampson & Okechukwu, 2022). Furthermore, Iwebuke

& Eike (2021) reported in their studies that the Niger

Delta has the richest petroleum deposits in Nigeria,

with over 37.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, and

187 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. Also in the

region, about 1,182 oil wells have been drilled and

exploited in the past five decades by International Oil

Companies (IOCs) that were given licenses by Nigeria’s

federal

government.

Furthermore,

there

are

approximately 606 oil fields in the Niger Delta, out of

which 360 are onshore and 246 are offshore (Philip,

2015). Nonetheless, the total numbers of oil wells in the

region have not been documented, in the same vain;

records of the numbers of exhausted and abandoned

oil and gas wells are not yet known.

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Elwerfelli & Benhin (2018) asserts that the Niger Delta

region

have

the

lowest

human-capita

and

infrastructural development index, in comparison with

other oil producing countries in the world such as

Kuwait, Indonesia, Libya, Venezuela and United Arab

Emirates. As at the time of putting this report together,

there is no significant infrastructural development in

place in the Niger Delta region that is commensurate

with the amount of petroleum exploited from the

region in the past years. The slow pace and especially

the acute lack of human and material development

over the years has pitched the Niger Delta on a

complex environmental, social, economic and political

trajectory of intra and intercommunity conflicts, as

well as conflicts with the IOCs and federal government

(Beloveth, 2015, Amnesty International, 2009,

Augustine, 2005 and Sokari, 2008). The problem have

been compounded by lack of transparency and

accountability

of

governance

institutions,

unemployment, low life span, poor environmental

remediation and mitigation measures from the oil

companies, cultural breakdown, human rights abuses,

illiteracy, and frequent outbreak of diseases and

hunger.

Unfortunately,

the

issues

of

poor

infrastructural development in the region are often

rationalized by the difficulty of Niger Delta terrain. This

disputable excuse from federal and state governments

and the oil companies has worsen the people access to

basic and fundamental services such as health care

facilities, electricity, portable drinking water, and good

road constructions (Nwankwo, 2017, Tosan, 2010).

Therefore, apart from the decades of environmental

degradation and neglect of the land and people of the

region, Watt (2009), reported that the risk of intra and

intercommunity conflicts and direct violence in Niger

Delta are as a result of frustration among the people,

failed expectations and perceived internal colonialism.

Location, Prospects and Challenges of the Oil Well 1

The first commercial crude oil discovery in the Niger

delta region was reportedly confirmed at Oloibiri field

(OML 29 Oloibiri Oil Well 1) in January 1956 by Shell

D’Arcy (later Shell–British Petroleum and now Shell

Petroleum Development Corporation). The Oloibiri oil

well 1 is located around longitude 6026’E and latitude

4065’N (Figure 1) (Jacinta, Edward & Yahaya 2012). The

Oloibiri oil field has a sphere of influence comprised of

six communities namely Otuabagi, Opume, Otuogidi,

Otuaba, Akoloman and Otuokeme. However, the

Oloibiri Oil Well 1 is majorly geo-located within the

landmass jointly owned by Otuabagi, Otuogidi and

Opume. The three communities have an estimated

population of 25,000 people and their traditional

occupations are fishing, farming and small scale

entrepreneurship. The Oloibiri well 1 environment is a

wetland characterized by swamps, streams and small

rivers that empty into the Atlantic Ocean. It is also a

home to biodiversity and endemic fauna and flora

including medicinal plants which are under studied.

The land is a fertile alluvial soil that supports bumper

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agricultural productivity, and has mineral deposits such

as gravels and sand amongst others.

Fig. 1. Location of Oloibiri oil well 1 at Otuabagi (Adopted from Jacinta et al. 2012)

Oloibiri being the first place where Crude oil was

discovered in commercial quantity in Nigeria is pivotal

to the economic, social, political and environmental

history of the people of Niger Delta in particular, and

Nigeria, West Africa and beyond. At the Oloibiri Oil Well

1 location, there lays the capped wellhead and a rusted

sign post with the inscription, ‘‘Oloibiri Well 1, drilled

June 1956, 12,008 feet (3, 7000 meters)’’; and today, it

lays desolate. The implications of the abandoned oil

wells are imperative to the communities’ socio-cultural

relationship as well as the economic and

environmental conditions of the people (Amnesty

International, 2011) and have grave potentials for

intercommunity conflicts, The Oloibiri people are

currently plagued with diverse environmental,

socioeconomic and public health issues. Public health

issues such as birth defects, cancer, various illnesses

and deaths have been linked to the persistent adverse

effects of petroleum hydrocarbons. Though human

health impacts due to contaminated land have not

been empirically studied in the study area; however,

surrogate data from other regions exist. For instance,

a study carried out by UNEP (2011) on Environmental

Assessment in Ogoni land in the Niger Delta found that

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oil spill can last over 40 years in the soil and water and

continue to generate severe environmental health

hazards.

Since SPDC ended oil production in Oloibiri Oil Well 1,

community folks whose environment, farmland lands

and livelihoods were damaged by oil spills have not

been compensated by either SPDC or Nigeria federal

government (Iyenemi, Utchay, Francis & Sheriff, 2014).

Equally, no alternative economic livelihoods have been

established or set up by multinational oil companies or

government agencies to assuage the sufferings of the

affected communities. Despite media hypes on

government interests and promises to develop the

place over the years, and the attendant frequent visits

by high profiled political and government functionaries

in the country including former Heads of States at

federal and governors at the state levels (Excellencies,

President Olusegun Obansanjo, Dr. Goodluck Ebebe

Jonathan, and Abdulsami Abubaka). There is no single

infrastructural development project in relation to the

abandoned oil well on ground in any of the host

communities to indicate that government is interested

in protecting the historical Oloibiri oil well site that has

been abandoned for decades now. Furthermore, there

is no single functional health Center provided by

government or multinational oil companies within

Otuabagi, Otuogidi or Opume. Also, the community

dwellers are drinking contaminated water from the

river or earthen ponds that make them vulnerable to

various water born diseases and illnesses and the

communities are in darkness as a result of no public

electricity supply.

Given the importance of the Oloibiri Oil well 1 for the

purpose of historical and archeological evidence, and

for being the first place where crude oil

(Hydrocarbons) was discovered and exploited in

commercial quantity in the Nigeria and West Africa

(Jacinta et al. 2012); there is need to protect and

preserve the historical site for the future generations,

and for the benefit of the state and the Niger Delta as

a research and archeological site. This requires

practical demonstration of commitment especially

from the federal government for the establishment of

Center for Environmental Excellence as was

recommended in the UNEP report on Ogoni land and

possibly an oil museum that will attract visiting

experts, researchers, students and visitors from

overseas and within the country to learn and know

more about the exhausted oil well (UNEP, 2011).

The Vanguard newspaper (2016) reported that the

people of Oloibiri believed that the issue of lack of

development,

intercommunity

conflicts,

environmental pollution, and poverty in their

communities are directly related to the abandoned oil

well which the IOCs and Nigeria federal government

have not addressed. Although, there is common

awareness of IOCs engagement in Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSRs) to a significant degree in Oloibiri,

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and other oil producing communities in the Niger

Delta. However, there is a strong negative perception

of the IOCs in most communities regarding their

failures

to

implement

full

Corporate

Social

Responsibility practices, and this include the issue of

abandoned oil wells especially the case of Oloibiri

Community (Amadi, Abbey, & Nma, 1996). Equally,

over the years, the CSRs of IOCs had not included

provision of sustainable integrated skills development

and livelihood initiatives for employment creation and

provision of food security. Moreover, the people of

Oloibiri and other oil producing communities in Niger

Delta seem to have lost confidence in the Nigeria

federal government as a result of state corruption, lack

of political will and capacity to implement and enforce

national regulatory standards that promote peace,

environmental

sustainability

and

economic

empowerment of the people in oil producing

communities in the Niger Delta over the years

(Nsemba, 2018, Nseabasi, 2005 & Kate, 2009).

Therefore, there is generally low expectations from the

federal government by the people of the study area

and many oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta to

proactively

intervene

and

resolve

issues

of

intercommunity

conflicts

and

socioeconomic

challenges that could arise in relation to abandoned oil

wells (Edo & Albrecht, 2021).

2.0 The History of Abandoned Oil Wells and

Socioeconomic and Environmental Conflicts in

Oloibiri

The Oloibiri oil well site is surrounded by some of the

oldest communities in Ogbia kingdom in Ogbia Local

Government Area of Bayelsa state of Nigeria. It was

founded during the 13th century as the district

headquarters of Ogbia kingdom. Interestingly,

Otuabagi at Oloibiri was the first community in Ogbia

Kingdom to have Standard One to Six academic level of

education in the early 1930s, which is equivalent to

some modern day tertiary standards of education.

Consequently, the community was an educational hub

that many people from different parts of Niger Delta

visited and schooled up to tertiary level. As a major

settlement with high population, in time some natives

migrated to nearby areas and settled down to start

new villages. Today, there are about 20 satellite

communities collectively known as Oloibiri clan with a

first class paramount ruler. Interestingly, it was in

Olobiri where Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, the first

popular Niger Delta minority rights’ activist was born in

1938. It was also there that late Isaac Jasper Adaka

Boro completed his standard six tertiary educations

before he later joined the Nigerian army (Elias, 2007).

According to Aniefiok, Udo, Margaret and Sunday

(2013) the process of exploration and exploitation of

petroleum products in Nigeria started as far back as

1908, when German surveyors that worked for

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Nigerian Bitumen Corporation, began prospection and

exploration of Tar Sand dump in the Southern Nigeria.

These pioneering efforts suddenly ended in 1914 due to

the outbreak of World War I. Nonetheless, in late 1937

Shell D’Arcy, a consortium of Iranian transnational oil

company (later British Petroleum) and Royal Dutch

Shell was granted exclusive concessionary right over

Nigeria. However, the outbreak of World War II (1939-

1945) ended the initial oil exploration activities by Shell

D’Arcy. Consequently, the process of exploration,

exploitation and production of petroleum resources

from the Niger Delta started in 1946 after World War II

when Shell D’Arcy drilled a number of oil wells in 1951.

The first commercial crude oil discovery in the Niger

Delta region was confirmed at Oloibiri oil field in

January 1956 by Shell D’Arcy (later Shell–British

Petroleum), Eweje, (2006).

The discovery of oil at that time at that location was a

surprise to both the prospectors (Shell-British

Petroleum Corporation) and to the indigenous people

of the area. This is because the indigenous people had

not seen crude oil before then, and had no knowledge

of the chemical and physical properties of crude oil,

and their effects on the environment, livelihood and

social lives. Moreover, they were not familiar with the

technology and techniques that was used to unearth

the oil. Additionally, this was so also because Shell-

British Petroleum and the Nigeria government did not

hold public sensitization programmes to educate the

host communities concerned. Furthermore, the people

at the time were not aware of the negative ecological,

social and economic outcomes and impacts associated

with the exploration and production of crude oil

(Kabari, Frederic & George, 2017). Consequently, they

were unable to make reasonable and effective

demands for adequate environmental clean-up and air

emission control measures when the first oil spill

occurred as a result of high gas pressure from the first

oil well. Furthermore, community people were afraid

to make serious request from Shell-British Petroleum,

as Nigeria was yet to gain independence from the

British government. Thus, they honored the company

personnel as colonial masters.

Most importantly, before the exploration of oil in

commercial quantity in 1958, there were incidents of oil

spills in Oloibiri environment that sometimes lasted for

several weeks and months. The spills occasionally

resulted to infernos and caused environmental

disasters as it affected the aquatic and terrestrial

ecosystems. This was observed in the narrative of

Regent Chief Elder Ipkesu S.F during a one-on-one semi

structured interview at his residence in Oloibiri

community in 2017. He expressed himself as follows:

‘‘At that time, the people of Oloibiri were ignorant and

vulnerable to manipulations, Shell took advantage of

this to poison our environment with spills for several

months without opposition, prior to the first major oil

spill that shocked the whole country. Being an agrarian

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and rural community that depended on farming and

fishing, the means of livelihood of our people where

severely affected by spills. The persistent spills were

thick and caused siltation in rivers and swamp waters

that emptied into the sea. Spills also sank into the

ground and polluted underground water’’ (6 February

2017).

This situation made the indigenous people to realize

the implications of oil spills into their environment

even without being sensitized; and quite clearly, this

marked the beginning of the socioeconomic hardship

and challenges in Oloibiri in relation to the discovery of

oil wells, and their subsequent abandonment. In

another semi structured interview with High Chief

Adogu, a member of Otuabagi community Council of

Chiefs, fervently expressed his thought as follows:

‘‘When Shell-British Petroleum started commercial oil

production in 1958 they laid pipelines through forests,

farmlands, creeks and rivers from oil wells at Oloibiri to

Bony terminal at Port Harcourt in River state, where

they gathered and exported the oil oversea. No

compensation was paid to landlords and no royalties

were recognized. Actually, Shell-British Petroleum paid

no royalties to any Oloibiri person at the time, and I

believe that Shell’s action was deliberate because they

had business history and they knew what they were

supposed to do. The Oloibiri people felt deprived of

their legitimate benefits’’ (6 February 2017).

However, after Nigeria become independent from the

British government in 1st October 1960, the federal

government claimed ownership of oil wells at Olobiri

and took over exploration and production operations

from Shell-British Petroleum (Musa, 2018). In 1970, the

Nigeria

federal

government

established

the

Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and later

created the Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNOC)

in 1971 that was later changed to Nigerian National

Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 1977 and now the

National Petroleum Corporation (NPC) in 2021. In order

to take full control of the petroleum industry, the

federal

government

nationalized

Shell-British

Petroleum Corporation in 1979. Consequently, Shell

British Petroleum was changed to Shell Petroleum

Development Company of Nigeria - SPDC (Aniefiok et

al. 2013). The Shell Petroleum Development Company

(SPDC) of Nigeria that assumed oil production also did

not attend to the problems of social and economic

hardship caused by oil spills in the study area and other

affected communities in the Niger Delta. Additionally,

SPDC did not carry out social and environmental impact

assessment, though it employed unskilled workers

from catchment, but did train them on specific formal

skills. Hence, there was no good host community

relationship between SPDC and the adjoining

communities.

Furthermore, after 20 years of oil exploration and

production from the first oil well at Oloibiri (1958-1978),

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SPDC abandoned the well in 1978 on the ground that

the pure crude oil had exhausted, and the quality of

remnant oil in the well were either not economically

viable or was below international standard. Since then,

SPDC have not taken steps to assess the impacts of the

abandoned oil well at Oloibiri community.

Factors Influencing Intercommunity Conflicts in

Oloibiri in Relation to Abandoned Oil Wells

A major factor influencing intercommunity conflicts in

Oloibiri in relation to abandoned oil wells is the painful

reality of daily economic hardship facing the people.

The people of Oloibiri feel deprived and marginalized

of the benefits of oil that was explored, found and

produced in high commercial quantity for many years

by SPDC and the federal government. The continuous

economic hardship experienced by the people over the

years has resulted to deep seated grievances against

SPDC and the federal government as well as other oil

companies. This observation has been corroborated by

previous studies which indicated that Oloibiri people

feel that multinational oil companies only took away

the oil in their land, and polluted soil, water, air and

biodiversity without developing the people and the

community (Musa, 2018, Aaron, 2005 & Obia, 2010).

Another factor that aggravated intercommunity

conflicts in Oloibiri is the failure of SPDC and federal

government of Nigeria to keep to their promises. For

instance, in 2007 SPDC signed a General Memorandum

of Understanding (GMoU) with five satellite

communities in Oloibiri clan that play host to several oil

wells (Otuabagi, Otuogidi, Ogbia town, Otuaekeme

and Opume community) collectively known as the

Oloibiri cluster. It was agreed in the GMoU that SPDC

would pay certain amount of money as annual

development fee to the cluster communities in order

to spur physical infrastructural development and

human resource development. The agreement was

witnessed by the Bayelsa state government. However,

till date, SPDC has not taken steps to implement the

GMoU. Similarly, in 2015 SPDC came to Oloibiri

community and made promises to rebuild Oloibiri

primary health care system including hospitals,

maternity centers and local health centers with the

sum of One Billion Naira. Yet, since then SPDC has not

revisited any of the communities or initiated any

process of fulfilling that promise.

In 2001 the Federal Government of Nigeria proposed to

build Oil and Gas Research Institute, Oil Museum and a

Library in Oloibiri. These projects were aimed to serve

as homage to the entire Oloibiri clan, and as symbols of

remembrance of Nigeria early history of oil

exploration. The foundation stone of the proposed oil

museum was laid by a former President of Nigeria,

Olusegun Obasanjo, but, until now nothing has been

done meaningfully on ground (Vanguard, 2016).

Additionally, in August 2010 the Bayelsa state

government publicly announced her intention to

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partner with a Chinese firm to build a Greenfield oil

refinery at Oloibiri, but it was not implemented. These

failed promises subtly bred an atmosphere of

suspicion, mistrust and betrayals between cluster

communities

thereby

fueling

the

risk

of

intercommunity conflicts.

The Antecedents of Intercommunity Conflicts in the

Oil Rich Niger Delta Region

Traces of intercommunity conflicts in the Niger Delta

became noticeable 9 years after the commencement

of commercial exploitation of oil by the federal

government. For instance, in 1966 late Isaac Jasper

Adaka Boro at the age of 28 initiated and led a militant

group known as Ijaw Volunteer Force. The group

consisted of about 59 people mainly fellows of his Ijaw

ethnic nationality. The agenda of the group was

primarily to make Niger Delta region an independent

country. To that end, they declared a Niger Delta

Republic which revolted against the Nigerian army for

12 days, but were outnumbered and subdued by

Nigerian army (Jike, 2004, Inoni, Omotor, & Adun,

2006). They undertook the revolution as a means of

demanding social justice, and economic and political

freedom from the Nigeria government and oil

companies as a result of social neglects and ethnic

discrimination against the Niger Delta people using

Oloibiri as example (Ajao & Anurigwo, 2002). Decades

after late Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro and his group were

defeated, the narrative has not changed.

Consequently, the entire people of Niger Delta started

demanding for resource ownership, control and

advocating for self-determination as a way of drawing

attention to decades of environmental pollution,

degradation and neglect of the land and people.

Sequel to Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro demand for

economic freedom, human rights recognition, and

environmental cleanup, as well as political justice in

1990, Kenule Saro-Wiwa from Ogoni clan in Rivers state

(Niger Delta, Nigeria) initiated and organized an active

grass root movement known as the Movement for the

Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP). It was a non-violent

and peaceful diplomatic pressure group. MOSOP

advocated for the rights of the Ogoni people for self

government, adequate environmental cleanup, and

remediation of Ogoni land polluted by oil spills, and

also a fair share of the oil wealth in the Niger Delta.

However, in 1992 Saro Wiwa was imprisoned by the

Nigeria military government without trial for several

months. Following this, in 1993 MOSOP organized a

peaceful protest of about 300,000 Ogoni people which

drew international attention to the suffering of the

Ogoni people. With this protest, MOSOP successfully

stopped SPDC from operating in the whole of Ogoni

land. However, SPDC retaliated through connivance

with the Nigerian State under the military dictatorship

of General Sani Abacha, and as a result Saro Wiwa was

arrested, tortured in detention, tried in a military court

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and executed on November 10, 1995 along with six

others (Elias, 2007 & Ibaba, 2008).

The death of Kenule Saro Wiwa ultimately led to a new

phase of protest and agitation in the Niger Delta

against multinational oil companies and the federal

government. These agitations were popularized

through declarations by various ethnic groups in Niger

Delta including the Kaiama Declaration (1998) by the

Ijaws, the Oron People’s (1999) Bill of Rights, Urhobo

Economic Summit Resolution (1998), the Akalaka

Declaration (1999), and the Warri Accord (1999). In all

of these declarations, the common denominator or

central

objective

was

self-government,

the

independence of ethnic nationalities in the region, and

resource control. The extreme activism that followed

these declarations quickly snowballed into a resilient

culture of youth militancy through the emergence of

various militant groups (Elwerfelli & Benhin, 2018).

Some of the prominent militant groups include:

Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta

(MEND), Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force

(NDPVF), Egbesu Boys, Niger Delta People’s Salvation

Front, Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV), and Joint

Revolutionary Council and Militant Camps across the

Niger Delta, amongst others. Consequently, the

militant groups engaged in violence and rebellious

activities against the Nigeria federal government, and

multinational oil companies. Among their activities was

interruption of Petro-businesses, destruction of oil

facilities and installations, violent threats to oil

workers, kidnapping of oil workers for ransom and the

proliferation of oil bunkering and artisanal refineries.

Until

2009

government’s

responses

to

this

development were repressive rather than dialogue.

Hence, this aggravated the situation and further led to

more breakdowns of law and order in the Niger Delta

such that it took huge economic toll on the polity and

became difficult to implement the Budget of the

federal government (Okonta, 2006, Omotola, 2006,

Okpuri & Ibaba, 2008).

However, on June 25th 2009, the Nigerian State under

the leadership of President Umaru Yar’Adua offered an

amnesty to militant groups in the Niger Delta. The

amnesty programme encouraged militants to publicly

disarm, accept dialog and embrace peace in exchange

for vocational training, youth employment, monthly

stipends and social integration. Thus, about 30,000

purported militants from the various groups and their

leaders signed up between 2009 and 2011. This

development did not only reduce the insurgency and

brought relative peace and stability to the region, it

offered the government the opportunity to address

and proffer lasting solutions to the grievances and

demands of Niger Delta people. Unfortunately, that

opportunity was lost to political gamble and bad

governance. Consequently, until now several issues

that triggered the insurgency remain largely

unaddressed (Aluko, 2001 & Eweje, 2006).

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The lack of transparency and accountability in the oil

industry gave way to corruption and self-enrichment of

political office holders of successive administrations.

This is another cause of social conflicts in Niger Delta.

Additionally, since early 1990s, many communities in

the region have had military occupations. For instance,

in 2003, the federal government drafted a team of

military force tagged ‘Operation Restore Hope’ to

strategic locations in Niger Delta with an express order

to brutalize people, and render invalid persons who

dare to publicly protest against the prevailing social

and economic condition of the peoples in oil producing

communities (Human Rights Watch, 2002). Today, the

latest military occupation in the region is the Joint

military Task Force (JTF), a combined team of the

Nigeria army and mobile policemen that was deployed

to Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta state since 2006. Obi

(2010) stated that this military occupation has

perpetrated state violence against innocent civilian

population in different forms including wanton killings,

public harassment and women sexual abuses (Inoni,

Omotor & Adun, 2006).

The risk of violence, intra and intercommunity conflicts

has increased in Niger Delta since late 1990s as a result

of the negative aspects to state militarization, light arm

proliferations, social breakdown of cultural values,

poverty, low self-esteem, struggle for land ownership,

physical and structural violence against women and

girls, sharing of proceeds of oil from petro-businesses,

and survival of the fittest mentality (World Bank, 2003).

According to Ekine (2005) most violent conflicts are

another dimension of State sponsored violence against

the people of the region, many conflicts pitch one

community against the other, sometimes occurring

with no previous history of rivalry. Therefore,

abandoned oil wells at Oloibiri reflect the symbol of

state marginalization of the people of Niger Delta,

upon which different intra and intercommunity

conflicts have developed and escalated.

Environmental Impacts of Abandoned Oil Well

Some authors assert that abandoned oil wells whether

owned or orphaned have inherent risks to the

environment; human health and the ecology because

they are prone to leak secretly underground (AAAS,

2021). Among the chemicals known to seep out from

abandoned oil wells and pollute air, soil, surface water

and underground water are Methane, Benzene,

Hydrogen sulfide and Arsenic (Jeff, 2021). Even the

smallest leaks can adversely affect human health and

the local environment including the impacts of

methane on climate change if they remain un-

addressed or undetected for many years (Authority,

2020). Given that the abandoned oil well in Otuabagi

at Oloibiri clan in Bayelsa state has remained

unmaintained, unchecked and unattended to by

Shell/SPDC for several decades and the host

communities have continued to raise alarms over

possible gas leakages and emission from the

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abandoned well; there is an urgent need to carry out

expert technical assessment of the condition of the

well to ascertain if the well is still in good condition or

otherwise.

Literature review shows that gas leakages are common

phenomenon from abandoned oil wells, for instance

Bradstock (2021) reported that across the United

States and Canada, methane is leaking out from over

four million abandoned oil wells and gas wells and this

has contributed significantly to climate change.

Similarly, in the Gulf of Mexico, thousands of

abandoned oil wells are leaking methane into the

Ocean, beyond methane emission; some wells have

been confirmed to releasing nitrous oxide, benzene

and carbon dioxide into the environment (Jeff, 2010).

Equally, Cathy (2021) emphasized that there are over

two million abandoned oil and gas wells specifically in

the United States which are ignored or forgotten by

the oil companies that drilled them, and are believed to

be seeping out harmful chemicals to the environment

which are dangerous to human health and the ecology.

Furthermore, Czeslaw, Tadeusz and Bogumila (2015)

cited the work of Ten, Feng and Wang (2013) who

carried out studies titled, ‘‘Total petroleum

hydrocarbon distribution in soils 63.21`21`and ground

water in Songyuan oil field, Northeast China’’. The

authors investigated the distribution of Total

Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) in underground water

and soil and found that TPH were detected in most

samples in both confined and unconfined water

aquifers. They concluded that the TPH pollutants were

from abandoned oil wells in the environment where

the samples were collected.

Considering the global incidents of gas leakages from

abandoned oil wells onshore and offshore from

abandoned oil facilities as reported in many scholarly

literatures, the concerns of host communities in

Oloibiri as regards the possibility of gas leakage from

the oil well that was abandoned over forty years ago

by Shell/BP cannot be undermined. Furthermore, over

the years, no thorough empirical studies have been

conducted to ascertain the condition of the

abandoned oil well in Oloibiri and the communities

have no information and awareness of the

consequences of gas leakage from the well on their

human health and the environment.

METHODOLOGY AND SCOPE

A total of Seventy (70) copies of questionnaire were

administered to respondents to illicit appropriate

responses to the study quest. The sampling technique

used in this study was purposive sampling technique.

Purposive sampling is cost effective, flexible and meets

multiple needs and interests based on the purpose of

the study and knowledge of the population.

Specifically, the maximum variation type of purposive

sampling was applied and its basic principle is to gain

in-depth insights into phenomenon by looking at it

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from different angles. The primary and secondary

methods of data collection were also used. Primary

sources

included

the

use

of

questionnaire,

observations, and semi structured interview at Oloibiri

community. Generally, data gathered was premised on

the social, cultural, economic and environmental

challenges facing Oloibiri as a result of the abandoned

oil wells; risk to peace, and opportunities to reduce and

prevent the risk of intercommunity conflicts in Niger

Delta using Oloibiri as a case study. The secondary

method of data collection used in this study includes

information obtained from journal publications,

reports, books, and newspaper publications. Data

were analyzed using statistical software and presented

in charts for the purpose of clarity.

RESULTS

The results from respondents input are presented and

illustrated in charts below. The issues interrogated

range from economic to cultural, environmental and

social conflicts related and in line with the abandoned

oil well-1 at Oloibiri.

Data on Environmental Concerns

Data on respondents input on the possible pollution of

the land and people of the oil well 1 area are contained

in Fig.1. Results indicated that majority of the

respondents (59%) attested to the fact the abandoned

oil well has had significant impact on their

environment.

Fig.1: Abandoned Oil Well 1 and Environmental Pollution

Data on the Economic Impact of the Abandoned Oil Well 1 on the Oloibiri People

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Data on the relativity between the abandoned Oil Well and economic challenges of the people of Oloibiri is illustrated

in Fig.2. Results revealed that majority of respondents (57%) associate their current economic challenges with decades

of inadequate attention paid to issues that emanated from the Oil Well till date.

Fig. 2: The association of Oil well with the economic hardship suffered by the Oloibiri people.

Data on the Negative Impact of the Abandoned Oil Well 1 on the Culture of the People.

The issue of the impact of the Oil well on the Culture of the people of Oloibiri was analysed as shown in Fig.3. Again,

results show majority of the respondents (49%) alluding to the fact that the abandoned oil well has negetaively

impacted on their cultural practices.

Fig.3: The negative impact of the abandoned oil well on the culture of the people.

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Data on Conflicts Between Oloibiri and Neighboring Communities

Imformation on the inter community conflicts between Oloibiri and neighboring Communities is contained in Fig.4.

Results indicate that a loose majority of respondents (35%) are in agreement that conflicts exist between Oloibiri and

neighboring Communities.

Fig.4: Abandoned Oil Well as Source of inter-Community Conflict

Data on Abandoned Oil Well and Regional Conflict

On the relativity between abandoned wells and conflicts in the Niger Delta region, majority of the respondents polled

(42%) attested to the fact there is a direct positive relationship between abandoned oil well and conflicts witnessing

in the Niger Delta as rightly detailed in Fig. 5.

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Fig. 5: Links Between Abandoned Oil Wells and Conflicts in the Niger Delta Region

Data On The Possible Reduction Of Conflicts Caused By The Abandoned Oil Well At Oloibiri

Information on the possibility of reducing conflicts caused by the abandoned Oil Well at Oloibiri is contained in Fig.6.

Results show clearly that majority of respondents (42%) opined that conflicts caused by the abandoned oil well can

be reduced.

Fig. 6: Respondents’ view on conflict reduction

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DISCUSSION

Generally, the study revealed a number of concerns

that the people of Oloibiri have as a result of the

abandoned oil well. It is important to note that the

effects of abandoned oil well in the community are not

confined to the site where the oil wellhead is located.

Rather, it spreads and adversely affects different parts

and needs of the people including their means of

making a living, peace, culture and environment.

Evidently, 50% of participants believe that the

abandoned oil well remains a source of economic

hardship to their community, while 40% expressed the

view that it negatively affects their culture.

Additionally, as much as 59% of participants clearly

indicated that the abandoned oil well depletes and

pollutes natural resources and natural services and

exacerbates the impacts of climate change.

Furthermore, some respondents points out that the

abandoned oil well has been a source of conflicts

between Oloibiri and neighboring communities for the

past decades. Equally, 42% of participants agreed that

conflicts in Niger Delta have bearing with abandoned

oil wells in other oil producing communities. However,

42% of respondents agreed that intercommunity

conflicts in Oloibiri that results from the abandoned oil

well can be reduce and resolved.

These findings are similar to that published by

Omofonmwan and Odia (2009) that some oil facilities

belonging to oil companies in several communities in

the Niger Delta have been deliberately left to rot,

deteriorate and degrade without replacement or

repairs. Consequently, abandoned oil facilities of

various types serve as continuous source of conflicts in

different forms in many oil producing communities. A

thorough analysis of the survey result indicates that

the risk of intercommunity conflicts in Niger Delta in

connection to abandoned oil wells or facilities has

increased over the years, and escalated into pockets of

conflicts. However, many of the conflicts sometimes

seems unconnected to it, but underneath are remotely

caused by it. This observation is in line with the

thoughts of Aniefiok et al. (2013) who expressed in

their paper ‘Petroleum Exploration and Production:

Past and Present Environmental Issues in the Nigeria’s

Niger Delta’ that all the participants polled agreed that

the problem of abandoned oil facilities in Oloibiri, and

by extension the entire Niger Delta requires local,

national and international interventions. Majority of

the respondents expressed the need for a restored,

remediated and productive ecological system as

ingredient for peace. The respondents also expressed

that the provision of community basic infrastructural

facilities such as functional health centers, clean

portable

drinking

water,

good

roads

and

establishment of social development institution are

vital to reduce and prevent conflicts. The belief

expressed by majority of respondents that conflicts

caused by the abandoned oil well can be resolved and

reduced, reflects their willingness to dialogue with

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federal agencies and SPDC for an enduring peace in

their communities, and alleviate their prevailing social

and economic predicaments. The Niger Delta being

one of the foremost Nigeria’s economic main stay; its

stability is strategic to peace not only in West Africa but

globally. Generally, the result of the research shows

that a collaborative effort based on sincerity of

purpose, rooted in community based participatory

method

involving

major/principal

stakeholders

including SPDC, States and Federal governments is

crucial to stem the tide of intercommunity conflicts

from the abandoned oil wells in Oloibiri and other

communities in Niger Delta.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

It is evident from the findings obtained from the study

that the respondents have similar concerns to those

identified by organizations such as UNDP, Nigeria

Vanguard News Paper, World Bank, and Amnesty

International. The common themes are environmental,

economic, social and cultural conflicts in the Niger

Delta in relation to oil exploration activities by IOCs,

lack of infrastructural development, abandoned oil

wells and facilities and their negative impacts on the

lives of host communities. The Federal and State

governments are recognized as having important roles

to play to improve the living standards of host

communities and protect them against environmental

pollution from abandoned oil wells or facilities. Also, oil

companies are urged to adopt best-fit global Corporate

Social Responsibility practices to stem the culture of

abandoning oil wells or facilities after explorations, and

take proactive steps to restore all sites already polluted

and or abandoned in Oloibiri and other communities. It

is therefore recommended that:

i.

The federal government and SPDC should carry

out adequate Social Impact Assessment (SIA)

on the impacts of abandoned oil well or

facilities in the lives of the Oloibiri people. This

will help them identify specific and major social

challenges facing the people and prioritize

intervention strategies for effective solutions

to the challenges.

ii.

IOCs

should

integrate

livelihood

skills

development programs in their CSRs to

empower host community members with

capacity and ability to become self-dependent

and employable.

iii.

The Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment,

Ministry of Mineral Resources and Federal

Ministry of Environment should enforce

periodic integrity checks on the oil well to

ensure that worn out equipment are replaced

and the well plugged to stand the test of time.

iv.

The IOCs should carry out Environmental

Impact Assessment (EIA) at the location of the

abandoned oil well and areas directly affected

by it in order to development proper

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environmental remediation and ecological

recovery methods in Oloibiri and environs.

v.

The SPDC should carry out a strategic technical

assessment of the oil well to determine

potential gas leakages and where possible,

take necessary steps to renew their equipment

to avoid dangerous gas leakage from the well.

vi.

The Federal and State government should

provide basic amenities such as reliable and

stable portably water system and regular

electricity supply using alternative renewable

technology options such as solar and wind

energy, and equally provide proper access

roads to and within Oloibiri in order to

stimulate local businesses to empower the

people economically to alleviate poverty in the

area.

vii.

The Federal government and multinational oil

companies should apply multidisciplinary

approach for inter-community conflict risk

mitigation strategies. They should work

collaboratively with community elders, women

and youth leaders. And constantly opt for

dialogue and reward for peace in their

relationships with local communities in Niger

Delta.

viii.

The

Federal

government,

through

its

monitoring and evaluation agencies, should

regularly carry out environmental compliance

audit in oil companies operating in

communities and ensure that IOCs fully adhere

to corporate social responsibility standards in

compliance

with

federal

and

state

environmental laws governing the oil industry.

ix.

iv. More research efforts should be

encouraged to identify all the communities

having inter-community conflict in Niger Delta,

including the exact nature of such conflicts in

connection with abandoned oil facilities. Such

research

should

also

produce

recommendations for long term solutions.

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