Investigation has revealed that the reported story of crude oil discovered in Elebu area of Ibadan, Oyo State Capital was false but a petrol infiltration from abandoned filling station in the area.
An investigation by LiveTimesNG which was sponsored by Association of Water Well Drilling Rig Owners & Practitioners (AWDROP), Oyo State Chapter, revealed that the fuel filling station, Al-Amin got burnt last year and the management of the filling station renovated it to start operation this year.
It was gathered that the filling station’s tank was filled with about 33,000 litres of petrol on Friday, October 22, 2021. The residents about 30 houses away from the filling station started seeing infiltration of petroleum product from their underground waters on Saturday 23, 2021.
When the infiltration first discovered, our reporter gathered that the residents were confused of the likely source because there was no filling station or oil pipeline near them which made some think it was crude oil.
The DPR from NNPC, Ibadan office reportedly visited the area and traced the source to the filling station. It was gathered that the management of the filling station quickly noticed that about 25,000 litres of the oil has been lost to the spillage which made them to intervene by bringing pumping machine on Friday to draw water from the water wells and provide alternative clean water for the affected residents. Although, when our reporter visited the area on Saturday, new petroleum product has infiltrated into the well making the whole environment smelling oil.
However, the affected residents have been warned never to cook to avoid fire outbreak and as a result, life has been hellish for these residents.
Speaking with our reporter, one of the residents, Mrs. Elizabeth Ale said she first discovered the contamination on Saturday morning as she perceived smell from the water and started causing her running stomach. “We initially thought maybe a water drawer that has petrol was put in the well but we later discovered the oil content started increasing and it became unbearable”, she said.
In the area, no fewer than eight houses were affected by the water contamination which infiltrated into two boreholes and four wells. However, the fear of the residents is that it may affect many other houses in the area.
When our reporter got to the filling station, it was sealed and the security man told our reporter that the remaining content in the fuel tank has been evacuated to prevent further infiltration into residents’ ground waters.
Reacting to the incident, the Oyo State AWDROP chairman, Engr. Kolawole Olayinka said the association showed concern after hearing what happened in the state for about one week, saying as water experts, the association made decision to verify the issue to the public.
He said: “Our investigation revealed that what was discovered was not crude oil but spillage. One reason the spillage did not infiltrate to immediate underground waters but to far distant waters is simple. The oil passes through the cracks on the hole underground that leads to the affected environment. It can even travel farther than that until it appears on available surface. The truth is, all liquids from underground have sources”.
He therefore advised the government to come to the aid of the residents to salvage the situation before it leads to environmental hazards.
