Some flood victims in the Rivers State local governments of Abu/Odual, Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni (ONELGA), and Orashi have appealed with the federal government to carry out a forensic audit to determine the extent of damage to their property.
Mr. Che Ibegwure, a nonagenarian and resident of the Erema village in Egi land, ONELGA, demanded that the federal government perform a forensic audit in his community to determine the extent of the damage before beginning remediation to repair the environment.
Ibegwure, who recently turned 90, claimed that environmental deterioration was a problem for his Egi tribe and other towns prior to the flood calamity as a result of the presence of oil multinationals in the region.
When Environment Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoN) paid him a visit and other local flood victims in the region, he spoke.
The elderly person said that this year's flood had a severe impact on them because of the already damaged surroundings. He could not connect the tragedy from 2022 with the comparable experience the community experienced in 2012, he recalled.
Ibegwure lamented: “This flooding issue, the one of this year is more complex than the last one that occurred in 2012. It really devastated the area. The worst of it all is this oil exploitation and its negative impact has already disorganised the environment.
“Whether we like it or not, they have been exploiting oil here since 1958-62. The oil companies have been able to deforest the area, so there is no more protection as such, the environment has been destroyed, and intimidated so much.
“This area is a free zone for environmental impact one way or the other: oil and gas explosions. So there is no protection again. This very 2022 flood devastated many buildings, even people died, and illnesses were everywhere. If you go around the community you will see a lot of sick people, including myself.
“I was so happy the community even have to witness the relief materials brought in here by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and Environment Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) for the refugees in the two camps we have here.”
He said the impact demand forensic examination explained that the aftermath of the incidents is affecting their health seriously. “I am a victim. My family is experiencing a lot of illnesses we didn’t expect. I am still calling for forensic auditing of the environment for us to know the gravity of the damage done to the environment.
“We know the flood may be a natural disaster but let them first exploit the situation of establishing a forensic auditing of the people to know whether most of the things happening here are all natural disasters or caused by human activities”.
Similarly, Dandi Mgbenwa, a community leader from Okwuzi, Egbema in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA, disclosed to PRIME9JAONLINE that the flood claimed about six lives in his community.
Mgbenwa explained that it took extra help to save his aged mother from dying in the flood. He said his community was hit badly by the natural disaster, claiming that homes, especially those mud houses have been wiped away leaving only debris in the area.
Meanwhile, the ERA took out time to send some relief materials to recently affected communities in River state.
According to the leader of the team and programme manager heading the Port Harcourt office, Kentebe Ebiaridor, the gesture came as the organisation did a follow-up to ascertain the impact the flood had on the communities and livelihoods.
He called for urgent action from the federal government and all other stakeholders to ensure that the people return back to their normal lives and provide a lasting solution to environmental damage in the area.