Environmental group demands independent probe into Abia pipeline explosion

The Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development, FENRAD Nigeria, has demanded an independent and scientific investigation into the recent crude oil pipeline explosion in the Owaza community of Ukwa West LGA of Abia State, which destroyed farms, houses and livestock.

According the FENRAD, the incident has further exposed the grave environmental, public health and safety risks posed by Nigeria’s aging oil and gas infrastructure.

FENRAD’s demands were contained in a statement released on Saturday by its Executive Director, Nelson Nnanna Nwafor.

The group called for the immediate constitution of a Joint Investigation Visit, JIV, involving representatives of the Federal Ministry of Environment, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Abia State Ministry of Environment and the pipeline operator, community representatives, independent environmental experts, and civil society organizations.

“Such a Joint Investigation Visit is critical to establish the precise cause of the explosion, determine the extent of environmental contamination, assess socio-economic impacts on affected communities, and recommend appropriate remediation and compensation measures,” the statement said.

FENRAD maintained that host  communities should not continue to bear the disproportionate burden of environmental degradation resulting from aging energy infrastructure.

The group while commending the Abia State government for visiting the explosion sites, called for a comprehensive Pipeline Integrity Assessment, PIA, of the entire pipeline corridor traversing Owaza and adjoining communities.

The integrity assessment according to the group, should include corrosion evaluation, wall thickness testing, hydrostatic pressure testing where appropriate, leak detection system evaluation, geotechnical stability assessment, and a comprehensive risk analysis to determine the operational safety of the infrastructure.

The  group which said that affected communities in Owaza deserve prompt environmental restoration, transparent disclosure of findings and adequate compensation for verified losses, called upon regulatory agencies to strengthen oversight and enforce strict compliance with pipeline integrity management programmes across the oil-producing region.