Four Communities in Bayelsa State on Thursday expressed concern over the discharge of crude oil into the Taylor Creek in Yenagoa, the state capital.
The communities are JK4, Betterland, Ikarama and Kalaba.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria, who visited the area, reports that oil deposits were noticeable along the creeks.
Moses Onyah, an indigene of the area, told NAN that the spill, which allegedly emanated from Shell oil fields, started on May 16.
Onyah said: “The pollution of the water bodies in the Taylor Creek is frequent but this very one became amplified last week precisely on May 16.
“It has got so bad that the water surface is completely coated by crude oil as you can see.
“We learnt that some officials of Shell came to work there on Tuesday and it may be the cause.”
NAN recalls that crude oil discharged from Well 2 location operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company contaminated the Taylor Creek on May 6, 2013.
Commenting on an earlier spill in the area, Tony Okenedo, Corporate Media Relations Manager of Shell, said: “Sadly, this spill adds to a rising trend in the Adibawa area.
“We recorded four different spills on our flow lines in the area between 9th and 26th April, all caused by sabotage and theft as attested to by the different JIV reports.
“Cleanup of residual impacted area is planned for later in the year.
“SPDC is very concerned about these sabotage spills because of the negative impact on the people and the environment.”
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