When the sun rises over Ibeno Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, its light falls on a land rich in oil but poor in everything else.
The people here say they are surrounded by wealth, yet live in darkness, thirst, and hunger.
For over a decade, oil companies have drilled beneath their soil and sea, but the communities remain without clean water, electricity, or health centres.
But the rainy season is a difficult time for the residents because every raindrop falls on the oil-spilled areas, pushing the rainwater into the river, which is their source of fishing.
On October 13, 2024, when SaharaReporters visited the community, the riverbanks were covered with oil spills, and several roofs in the village were rusted, which some residents claimed was due to the activities of oil multinational companies.
A study by Ekpoh and Obia shows that gas flaring significantly accelerates the corrosion of zinc roofs in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
The community's water was affected by rust. On October 13, SaharaReporters fetched water from the community’s source of drinking water, and by October 14, the water turned yellow.
Walking through the Okoroitak and Iwuopom communities, the evidence of the impact of oil and gas activities was everywhere: rusted pipelines running dangerously close to drinking water sources, polluted rivers, and farmland turned into black swamps.
The smell of crude oil lingers in the air, a constant reminder of unfulfilled promises and the danger to residents living near oil and gas companies.
Network Exploration Company, ExxonMobil, and others are companies operating in the communities we visited in Akwa Ibom State.
The companies have yet to respond to our email, which was sent on November 26, 2025.
Network Exploration Company Oil Well in Okoritak Community/Photo by Faith Imbu, October 14, 2024
However, ExxonMobil sold its assets, including a 40% operating interest in four oil mining leases (OMLs 67, 68, 70, and 104), the Qua Iboe Terminal, and a 51% interest in the Bonny River Terminal, to Seplat Energy, a major indigenous Nigerian energy company listed on both the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges.
The deal was sealed in December 2024, two months after our visit to the community.
According to data from the Nigeria Oil Monitor website, Network Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd recorded one oil spill incident in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State, in 2023, involving 5.03 barrels of oil.
As of December 19, when SaharaReporters checked the agency’s website, the cause of the incident had not yet been determined. The spill affected land.
Further findings by SaharaReporters show that Seplat, the company that acquired ExxonMobil’s assets, recorded a total of 167 spill incidents and spilled 1,166.03 barrels of oil between 2020 and 2025, according to records from the Nigeria Oil Monitor website.
Seplat’s highest number of spills occurred around the time it closed the deal to acquire ExxonMobil’s assets.
In 2024, the company recorded 40 incidents, resulting in 219.82 barrels of oil spilled.
In 2025, it recorded 21 incidents, totaling 253.68 barrels of spilled volume. Most of the company’s reported spills occurred in Port Harcourt and Warri.
As of the time of publication, SaharaReporters could not find any spill incidents linked to the company recorded on the Nigeria Oil Monitor website, despite community complaints about pollution caused by the previous owner, ExxonMobil.
We also did not find any spill records attributed to ExxonMobil by the Nigeria Oil Monitor team.
Rights groups have consistently criticised the agency for failing to fulfil its responsibilities and for relying on polluting companies to support its operations.
Critics say this dependence undermines the agency’s ability to conduct thorough and independent investigations.
They Threatened My Life for Speaking Out
At Okoroitak, a small fishing village, the youth president, Comrade Okon, speaks with anger and exhaustion. One could feel the pain in his voice, saying, the only source of power in the area.
“The company’s pipeline passes beside our drinking water,” he said, referring to Network Exploration Company, which operates an oil well in the community. “We asked for clean water and solar street lights, but nothing has been done.”
Okon said the people have not benefited from the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which was meant to ensure host communities share in oil wealth.
“Since the PIA started, we have seen no benefit. We asked those in charge what the money is used for, but no one can explain.
Because they believed I was asking too many questions, he told SaharaReporters, adding that he had received life threats for asking about the money from the PIA.
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 mandates that 3% of the operational proceeds of petroleum companies be allocated to host communities.
This fund supports development projects, infrastructure, and social programs, ensuring that communities impacted by oil and gas activities benefit directly from industry revenues.
Youth President, Joseph Jonah, in his community waterside/Photo by Faith Imbu, on October 13, 2024
Dead Rivers, Dead Livelihoods
In nearby Iwuosha Community, the story is even more heartbreaking. The youth President, Joseph Jonah, recalls how oil spills have destroyed their once-thriving fishing grounds.
“Our aquatic animals are dead. The fishing nets are spoiled. The rivers have no fish again,” he said, pointing at a river whose surface shines with a rainbow of oil.
“Even our farmlands are gone. People no longer farm; they’ve given up.”
Jonah said every dry season, government and company officials promise action, but the only thing that changes is the colour of the water.
“We have been asking about the PIA funds, but no one tells us anything,” he said.
He also described new signs of environmental distress: black soot falling with the rain, and rooftops rusting faster than ever.
“We know it is because of the pollution from ExxonMobil, Coin Oil, and Network Exploration. They are killing our land and our people.”
Women Die Giving Birth Because There’s No Clinic
At Iwuopom village, Mrs Abigail Edideom, the women's leader of the community, struggled to hold back tears as she spoke about the dangers of childbirth in her community.
“Many women die during childbirth because there’s no clinic. I’m taking care of a small girl whose mother died while giving birth,” she said.
The nearest health facility is several miles away, and women are forced to travel by boat or on foot through swampy paths to get medical help.
Businesses Washed Away
Another resident, who simply identified herself as Chidiebere, popularly known as Ikem, a businessman who has lived in Iwuopom for nearly three decades, said the oil spill has been a disaster that wiped out residents’ source of income.
“The August and September 2024 spill finished everything,” he said. “It killed fish, stopped fishermen from going to the river, and affected my boat and trading business.”
Also, in Okoroitak, a farmer and fisherman named Tyoro has abandoned farming.
He alleged that “Network Exploration is the cause of the pollution destroying our river and farmland. Now we survive by cutting firewood and selling it. That is our only income now,” he said.
Forty Years and No One from Here Has Been Employed
The community chairman of Iwuopom, Austin Akpan, said multinational companies have taken everything and given nothing back.
“We have no scholarships, no health centre, no electricity, no clean water, no jobs,” he said.
“They destroyed our rivers and farmlands. People have worked for these companies for over 40 years, yet no one from this community is employed by them. The few who got jobs were later dismissed.”
He called on the federal government to visit Ibeno and see the suffering for themselves.
At the palace in Ibeno, the Paramount Ruler, His Royal Majesty Owong (Prof.) Effiong B. Archianga shook his head as he spoke about the destruction of his land.
“Our land is rich in resources, but our people are poor. The oil spills have destroyed our farms and rivers.
“Yet we have received nothing from NGOs, the state government, or the federal government,” he said.
He urged immediate government intervention to rescue Ibeno’s communities from total collapse.
Ogoni Community River/Photo by Faith Imbu on November 8, 2024
Ogoni’s Long Road to Recovery
Hundreds of kilometres away in Rivers State, another story unfolds: in the Ogoni region, oil pollution has eaten deep into the land. The tale of Ogoniland pollution has been everywhere and unending.
Decades after oil spills turned their rivers black, cleanup efforts led by HYPREP and Shell are ongoing, but progress remains slow.
In November 2024, when The Colonist Report Africa visited Ogoniland in Bomu village.
Right group, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), staff were seen in the coming (coming what: days, season, or months?) trying to plant trees to support the land.
Founder of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, was seen at the waterfront alongside other members of his team. He praised HYPREP’s initial cleanup.
Bassey said, “The environment is gradually returning to its normal self,” he said, as his team planted mangroves to restore aquatic life. “But it could take up to 30 years for full recovery.”
Local diver, Legedu Deekor, who expressed hope that they are beginning to witness the re-emergence of some seafoods like periwinkles, however, noted that their fishing and farming businesses are still in shambles.
“We can now see seafood like periwinkles again,” he said. “But our fishing and farming are not the same. Pollution destroyed everything.”
Community leader Bowin Peter explained that remediation is almost done, but the restoration phase hasn’t started.
“Until the full restoration begins, the land and rivers cannot truly heal,” he said.
Bassey, some activists, and some members of the HYPREP at Bodo Community planted mangrove trees to observe the healing process of the land carried out by HYPREP.
While HYPREP appears to be working to restore the land, community residents remain worried that the delay is affecting their livelihoods.
Kabari Barilelu Patricia, a farmer, said the soil no longer produces crops. “Farming has become impossible.”
She also accused HYPREP of failing to provide clean drinking water, leaving communities like Bori without safe water.
Melody Gold Barry-Yobo, from the Kono community, alleged that, “Shell has turned Ogoni people into environmental refugees. We are dying from cancer and respiratory diseases, and no one has compensated us.”
A community activist, Friday Ibani, called for climate justice, saying, “It’s time to leave oil in the soil. Our health, our land, and our future depend on it.”
Experts Speak: ‘They Are Leaving A Mess Behind’
Steven Obodoekwe, Programme Director at the Centre for Environment, Human Rights, and Development (CEHRD), also warned that oil companies are abandoning damaged lands as they move to deep-sea operations.
“Communities don’t even understand the agreements being made. The IOCs might have left, but they’re still controlling things through local companies,” he said.
He explained that while oil drilling has stopped in some areas like Ogoniland, pollution from decades ago still poisons the land and water.
“They must clean up before leaving. Otherwise, the damage will continue.”
Obodoekwe said the regulators, the same government agencies meant to protect the environment, often depend on oil companies for logistics.
“The companies provide boats, flights, and even accommodation for regulators. How can you be independent like that?”
He said this dependence leads to collusion and cover-ups, stressing, “Investigations are manipulated to make spills look smaller than they are.”
He warned that deep-sea drilling could be even more dangerous. “It’s harder to monitor, and the pollution eventually flows back to our coastlines.”
Both Morris and Obodoekwe criticized the government’s failure to use Environmental Remediation Funds properly.
“Corruption has eaten deep,” Obodoekwe said. “We need real transparency and an honest energy transition away from oil.”
The report was done by Faith Imbu, Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi, and Sunday Elom
Funding for Part II of this investigation was provided by HEDA Agenda in partnership with The Colonist Report UK/Africa.