Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Environmental activist and Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF, Rev. Nnimmo Bassey, has declared the Niger Delta a “sacrifice zone” and one of the most polluted places on Earth, calling for urgent climate action, reparations, and community empowerment to reverse decades of ecological destruction.
Bassey, who gave the keynote address at the 3rd Niger Delta Climate Conference held in Port Harcourt, said the region is suffering an “environmental genocide” after nearly 70 years of unchecked oil extraction, gas flaring, and regulatory negligence.
He said, “The Niger Delta is a territory where the inhabitants are literally the living dead due to horrific environmental degradation. In Bayelsa State alone, 40% of mangrove forests are gone, 1.5 barrels of crude oil are spilled per capita, and 14 million cubic meters of gas are flared daily at 17 facilities, poisoning the air and water.”
Referencing damning reports by the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP and the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission, Bassey described the region’s pollution as systematic and intentional.
“Environmental genocide can also be termed ecocide, the persistent destruction of a particular environment, as has been the case in the Niger Delta over the last 68 years.”
He condemned international oil companies and Nigerian government for decades of negligence, noting that abandoned wells in Otuabagi and offshore blowouts like Ororo-1 in Ondo State have been spilling crude for years without remediation.
“How can we speak of climate action when oil wells have been burning and spilling crude oil for five years?”
Bassey demanded a full environmental and health audit across the Niger Delta, urgent cleanup and remediation, and reparations for communities. “Gas flaring must be stopped. It is a crime against humanity and against Mother Earth,” he stated.
On the future, Bassey called for a shift to community-owned renewable energy, agroecology, and energy democracy.
“Communities must be in charge of what resources are extracted and how they are managed. We need restorative justice. Those who caused the harm must pay to repair it.”
He also urged for the creation of people-driven community development agencies, warning against the use of divide-and-rule tactics by oil firms and governments. “Real empowerment means giving communities the right to say: ‘This cannot happen in our territory.’”
Bassey concluded with a call for intergenerational justice. “The future belongs to children yet unborn. What we do now must ensure they inherit a planet with strong, resilient ecosystems.”
The conference brought together civil society groups, environmentalists, and policymakers to discuss climate justice and grassroots solutions for the region.
