Fresh Oil Spill Hits Rivers Community After Trans Niger Pipeline Rupture

A fresh oil spill has impacted Freetown community in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State following a rupture on the Trans Niger Pipeline late Friday night.

Residents said they discovered crude oil discharging into nearby mangrove swamps in the early hours of Saturday. According to community members, the spill has continued to spread through tidal channels into adjoining creeks.

The Trans Niger Pipeline was formerly operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company and is now managed by Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited after the transfer of Shell’s onshore assets.

Ekras Kobah, a resident who said he visited the site, described the rupture as significant. He estimated that more than 100 litres of crude oil were flowing into the mangrove swamp per hour, with tidal currents carrying the pollution further into surrounding waterways. He suggested corrosion may have caused the failure, adding that the pipeline appeared to remain in operation at the time of the leak.

Kobah also noted that the affected area has experienced previous spills without full remediation, leaving the environment vulnerable to further damage.

Community representatives said the incident had been reported to the operating company, which indicated that a Joint Investigation Visit would be conducted to determine the cause and volume of the spill.

However, Augustine Bello, Port Harcourt Zonal Director of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, said as of Saturday afternoon the agency had not received a formal notification of the incident.

Under Nigerian law, oil companies are required to promptly report spills to regulators and initiate containment and clean-up measures.

The latest spill adds to concerns over the integrity of ageing infrastructure along the Trans Niger Pipeline corridor. In May 2025, multiple spills were reported in Oshika and Ikata communities in Ahoada West Local Government Area, raising questions about maintenance and monitoring practices.

Efforts to obtain comments from Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited were unsuccessful. Calls to the company’s official telephone line did not connect, and an email seeking clarification on the cause of the rupture, immediate containment steps and compensation plans had not been answered at the time of filing this report.

Residents warned that without swift intervention, the spill could damage fishing grounds and further degrade the mangrove ecosystem that supports livelihoods in the area.