…As Illegal loggers kill 9 Gashaka National Park workers in Taraba***

The Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN) has urged ExxonMobil to urgently clean up the Niger Delta and rid it of its ‘environmental hazards’ status, caused by oil spill occurring from the company’s actvities”.

The Niger Delta Coordinator of the Association, Mr Inyang Ekong stated this in Eket, Akwa Ibom, just as the Conservator of the Gashaka Gumti National Park in Taraba, Alhaji Mohammed Kabir laments the illegal killing of no fewer than nine Rangers, by loggers, while leaving several others injured in the last few years.

“We have been complaining to Nigerians. We have written series of letters, we have talked to leaders of National Assembly, House of Representatives to no avail,” Ekong said, calling on ExxonMobil to also, urgently do thorough clean up of oil spill that allegedly occurred on July 2 at the shores of Ibeno, where its facilities are located, stressing that the communities and its fishermen suffered the impact of oil spill without due compensation paid by the multinational oil company.

“Whenever there is oil spill in the state, there will be no catch. The impact damages the fishing nets.

“Once the oil touches the nets, the fish get scared and run to other neighbouring countries.”

He further called on the multinational oil company “to pay compensation to fishermen and affected communities, as it is done in foreign countries and not to pay palliatives.

“It is their duty to compensate fishermen so that we have something to depend on, before the water can be restored again and the fish come back.

“This is rainy season that we are supposed to catch fish but we are at home due to oil spill from ExxonMobil facilities.”

Also read:  NOSDRA fines oil company N260m for oil spillage

He also urged the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Petroleum and the National Oil Spill Detection and Regulatory Agency, to sanction oil companies found guilty of oil spill.

The Manager, Media and Communications of ExxonMobil, Mr Ogechukwu Udeagha, however said the company has no evidence of any spill from ExxonMobil facilities as alleged by Ekong.

“There is no evidence to support the claim and none of its activities has been reported to having the potential to spill as was being alleged”, he said, restating the company’s continued commitment to maintaining high safety, health and environmental standards in its operations, as well as to the well being of the host communities.

Meanwhile up North, the Conservator of the Gashaka Gumti National Park in Taraba, Alhaji Mohammed Kabir is lamenting that illegal loggers have killed no fewer than nine Rangers, leaving several others injured in the last few years.

Kabir spoke on Wednesday at an event to mark the 2019 World Rangers Day celebration at Serti, headquarters of Gashaka Local Government Area of the state, giving the names of the deceased as Usman Yahya, Joshua Mamman, Adamu Hamman, Ajayi Peter and Hamman Njidda.

According to him, others are Hamman Dikko, Zamani Teituly, Sunday Ali and Yakubu Umaru.

“Their respective deaths are not unconnected to the activities of loggers with its attendant insecurity around the park and her support Zone Communities,” he said.

He said: “31st of July every year is set aside by the International Ranger Federation (IRF) to enable conservationists and lovers of wildlife commemorate the selfless service rendered by Rangers killed or injured in the line of duty and appreciate the critical work they do in protecting the natural resources.”

He explained that the past few years had been very hectic for the Managers and Rangers of Gashaka-Gumti National Park due to increased spate of desperation on illegal logging of Rosewood (pterocarpus erinaceous) commonly called Madrid.

The official observed that the economic importance of this specie and its abundance was discovered between 2014 and 2015 in Gashaka LGA and particularly around the park thereby constituting serious security threat to workers of the National Park.

The discovery of the rosewood in the area has continued to be of major security challenge to both Managers and Rangers of the park as they spent sleepless nights to protect the forest resources from desperate loggers.

Kabir identified illegal logging, illegal grazing, high level insecurity, poaching and other illegal human activities around the National Park as some of the major challenges confronting the institution.

In his goodwill message at the occasion, the Lamdo Gashaka, Dr Zubairu Hammangabdo, said conserving the National Parks was a collective responsibility.

As traditional rulers, he said, they would continue to mobilise their subjects to protect what he described as “the largest and most diverse conservation enclave in Nigeria”.

He warned his people against illegal logging and poaching, explaining that the park was a pride not only to the people of Gashaka, but Taraba and Nigeria at large.