… Police yet to speak up
The raging fire at the oil explosion at an oil well in Ogoni area of Rivers State has gone off on its own. This is as seven persons have allegedly been arrested at the site in Kpean, Khana local council area of the state.
BusinessDay gathered that up till Sunday, August 10, 2025, the authorities may not have been able to gain access to the site. Sources blame this on bad road but other sources say youths of the area have formed a ring that would not allow anybody to get close, and the community allegedly rejected some amounts allegedly offered them by the authorities.
In Ogoni and some other Niger Delta communities, oil spill fetches money no matter how it is caused or who is involved. Demands of all types are made by various groups around the communities before any action could be taken.
The August 8, 2025 incident was traced to suspected explosion at Wellhead 14 of OML-11 which was abandoned by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), now sold to Renaissance.
Read also: NOSDRA, EU seek collaboration on oil spill response, environmental protection
Early alarm was raised Friday by an activist group, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), which said through its executive director, Fyneface Dumnamene Fynface, that it confirmed the surging spill through its One Million Youth Volunteers Network and Crude Oil Spill Alert System (COSAS). The report had said the spill came amid ongoing environment clean-up of previous crude oil spills.
Now, latest reports say no fewer than seven individuals, including females, have been arrested by the Rivers State police command at the site in Kpean community. The fire was reported a day after the explosion which was believed to be behind the spill.
BusinessDay source gathered that on August 9, 2025, around 11 pm local time, community youths who were keeping watch over the spill site spotted seven men and women allegedly dressed in black uniform-like clothes at the spill site. The youths alerted the police, leading to the arrest of the individuals at dawn on August 10. They are said to be currently detained at the Bori Police Station.
Efforts to get the arrests confirmed by Grace Iringe-Koko, the Rivers State police public relations officer (PPRO) have not been successful since Sunday night. Her two promises to get back to this Correspondent have not been met. Sources however said the leadership of the police in the state was billed for an on the spot inspection of the site by Sunday, August 10, 2025. It is not clear if the visit was made.
This is also how the mission of the black-wearing individuals that were spotted at the site has not been revealed. The Commissioner of Police, Rivers State command is said to have launched an investigation into the incident.
Meanwhile, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) is said to have been unable to conduct a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) on the spill site after multiple failed attempts due to the challenging conditions at the site including a mixture of crude oil and water still covering the ruptured part of the wellhead with spillage still ongoing.
Apart from NOSDRA that may wish to send operatives to attempt to get to the place, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) as well as some private pipeline protection firms may wish to penetrate the area to file preliminary reports to the government.
