ERA/FoEN raises alarm over toxic waste dump in Rivers

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has said it had uncovered a toxic waste dump site in Kdere, Gokana local government area of Rivers state.

In a statement, the group said a team of its Environmental Field Monitors visited Lot 13 and Lot 14 on September 28, 2021 and “unearthed Shell’s toxic waste dump site in Kdere community.”

ERA’s Programme Director , Barrister Mike Karikpo, said some workers of Centennial Development and Investment Limited, the contractor assigned to cleanup and remediate Lot 13, phase 1 batch 1 of the HYPREP delineated clean-up sites, had also complained of a powerful stench oozing from the Lot.

He said its field monitors noticed coloured creamy substances in the soil within the excavated pit, adding that “an environmentalist in the team disclosed that the stench and the colour of the groundwater in the pit are telltale signs that the site could be a toxic waste dump site.”

“Proper evacuation of the hidden cargo of toxic materials from Lot 13 should be conducted by experts and in a transparent manner; involving the relevant government agencies, impacted communities and civil society to track the movement of this likely cargo of death,” he said.