The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has demanded the immediate cleanup of areas affected by the latest crude oil spill at Nembe Creek in Bayelsa State, alongside compensation for victims and full accountability for the incident.
The environmental advocacy group said the August 22, 2026 spill, which occurred during crude oil loading operations at a facility operated by Nembe Exploration and Production Limited, formerly Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Limited, within Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29, had contaminated waterways and fishing grounds relied upon by coastal communities.
Following a field assessment, HOMEF said its team observed crude oil on the water surface and along mangrove banks around Nembe Creek, while the strong smell of crude oil was reportedly detectable about two kilometres from the community.
The organisation said residents reported that tidal movements had spread the pollution through interconnected waterways and fishing settlements, worsening the impact on communities whose livelihoods depend largely on fishing.
Residents told HOMEF that fishing nets and equipment had been damaged, fish catches had declined significantly, and some waterways were no longer considered safe for fishing or domestic use.
The Vice-Chairlady of Nembe Creek women, Love Mark, said the spill had effectively deprived local fishermen and women of their traditional means of livelihood.
“We cannot go out with our fishing nets and hooks for fishing again,” she said, adding that crude-contaminated fishing nets had become unusable. According to her, a single fishing net costs between N150,000 and N170,000.
The paramount ruler of Nembe Creek communities, HRH Agent Anthony Waya, also lamented the destruction of aquatic life, saying repeated pollution had made fishing increasingly unviable.
“Due to the destruction of the aquatic lives, there are no fish in the river; people would go fishing in two or three canoes and return with nothing,” he said.
The worsening situation reportedly triggered a protest by women from the affected communities at the oil facility, where they demanded immediate cleanup, a comprehensive assessment of the damage and relief for affected households.
Although a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) reportedly identified operational failure as the cause of the latest spill, HOMEF said the volume of crude discharged and the full geographical extent of the contamination remained inconclusive as of September 1.
Executive Director of HOMEF, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, said identifying the immediate cause of an oil spill should not end the accountability process, particularly in an area with a history of recurring pollution.
Bassey linked the latest incident to previous pollution associated with OML 29, including the prolonged 2021 Santa Barbara Well 1 spill and wellhead blowout. He argued that repeated incidents should be treated as evidence of systemic environmental governance failures rather than isolated emergencies.
HOMEF therefore called on Nembe Exploration and Production Limited, the Bayelsa State Government and relevant federal regulatory agencies to immediately publish the complete JIV findings, including the cause of the spill, estimated volume of crude released, geographical extent of the contamination and all affected communities.
It also demanded an independent and comprehensive environmental assessment of affected waterways, mangroves, fishing grounds and settlements, followed by immediate cleanup and ecological restoration with clearly defined timelines and transparent monitoring.
The organisation further called for urgent relief for affected households, particularly fishing families, and compensation for verified livelihood and economic losses, including damaged fishing equipment and lost fishing time.
HOMEF insisted that all affected communities and fishing camps must be fully incorporated into investigation visits, environmental assessments, damage evaluation, cleanup operations and subsequent monitoring.
It also urged authorities to establish sustained monitoring of water, sediments, fish and other aquatic organisms, while strengthening spill-prevention measures and emergency-response systems around crude-loading facilities.
Beyond the latest incident, HOMEF urged stakeholders to address the wider environmental legacy of pollution in OML 29 rather than treating each spill as an isolated event.
The organisation also expressed concern about the broader operational footprint of crude-loading activities, including navigational buoys and vessel movements, which it said could interfere with fishing grounds and damage fishing equipment.
HOMEF maintained that Niger Delta communities should no longer be left to bear the environmental and economic costs of oil extraction while accountability remains inadequate.
It urged the operator and government authorities to move beyond emergency responses and make pollution prevention, transparent investigations, meaningful community participation, ecological restoration and livelihood recovery central to environmental governance in Nembe.
For residents of Nembe Creek, HOMEF said, the demand remains straightforward: clean water, protected livelihoods and environmental justice—not recurring pollution and repeated promises of relief.
