The advocacy group Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has issued a distress call to the Federal and Ondo State governments, demanding immediate intervention in the Abereke community of Ilaje Local Government Area. The region is currently grappling with a dual catastrophe: recurring oil spills and relentless ocean surges that have submerged homes and obliterated local livelihoods.
Following a recent field assessment, CAPPA described the atmosphere in Abereke as a preventable disaster fueled by a combination of corporate negligence and state abandonment.
A Community Under Water and Oil
The crisis reached a breaking point following an oil spill in October 2023, allegedly linked to Guarantee Petroleum Company. Months later, the community remains coated in crude. CAPPA’s report highlights a grim reality: the contamination of local water bodies has led to the mass death of aquatic life and the destruction of vital fishing equipment, including boats, engines, and nets.
“Abereke is in the throes of a preventable disaster. What we saw is a community abandoned to the combined impacts of corporate irresponsibility and government inaction. This cannot continue,” stated Martins Ogunlade, Associate Director at CAPPA.
Livelihoods in Ruin
For a community that depends almost entirely on the sea, the environmental damage has translated into a severe economic depression. Beyond the loss of fish stocks, residents have reported the death of domestic livestock, such as goats and pigs, while clean drinking water has become a paid commodity that many can no longer afford.
The surge of the Atlantic Ocean has exacerbated these woes, with coastal erosion swallowing vast tracts of land. This has left the population vulnerable to further tidal incursions with no protective infrastructure in sight.
Collapse of Social Infrastructure
The humanitarian impact extends to the next generation. The community’s only primary school has been destroyed by tidal waves, effectively halting formal education for local children. Furthermore, the absence of healthcare facilities has forced sick residents to rely on traditional remedies, as the government’s presence in the area remains virtually non-existent.
Despite numerous formal complaints sent to the Ondo State government, the community claims their appeals have been met with total silence.
Demands for Justice and Restoration
CAPPA is calling for a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and an immediate, professional clean-up of all polluted sites. The group’s demands include coastal protection which is the urgent construction of embankments to halt further erosion, compensation where financial restitution will be provided for residents who have lost their livelihoods and property, and reconstruction and the immediate rebuilding of schools and healthcare centers.
Ogunlade emphasized that Abereke is not an isolated case, noting that oil giants such as Agip, Shell, and Chevron have also been implicated by locals in the wider ecological degradation of the Ilaje region.
“Like many other suffering communities in Ondo State, the people of Abereke are demanding justice, not charity,” Ogunlade stressed. “Government must act now to protect lives, restore dignity, and hold polluters accountable.”
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