REPORT BY DR PETER ODUKS, 29 AUGUST 2005

1. Yiba-Ama (Oruma) is an oil bearing community having location "33" within her territory. The community, inspite of this, has been grossly maginalised in terms of developmental activities by SPDC.

2. OIL SPILL:

a. each spill occurence has been attended with outright neglect by SPDC, of the devastations and hazards suffered by the community.

b. With all the creeks, streams, ponds and swamps covered with crude oil, the eco-system is completely destroyed. Aquaticand forest lives are extinct. Our main source of drinking water is polluted. The environmental degredation experienced here which emanates from SPDC operations, is unquantifiable.

c. on account of this, part of our culture (fishing festival) has also been destroyed.

d. we have put up with the toxic fume of the spilled crude for about three months now. Some cases of death have already been recorded, with an outbreak of diseases ravaging the area.

In fact, the area can only be described as a disaster zone.

3. Our political leaders mandated to represent our interest don't seem to be helping matters, as there seems to be a collusion with SPDC (perhaps for personal enhancement) to treat such matters of destructive magnitude with apathy and wreckless
abandon, inspite of the unfortunate fact that we are sitting on a time bomb.

4. SPDC is only after recovering their crude. What happens to the community (health, economy, culture, etc) is never given any thought.

5. On a broader scale, this is the general plight of the Niger Delta zone in Nigeria. This zone is, indeed, sitting on a time bomb as cases of tremor have been recorded in the zone. This is the justification for resource control and true federalism as being
advocated by the South - South zone and other right-thinking Nigerians. This is the bakery that produces over 90% of the "national cake", the proceeds of which are siphoned to develop other zones, and drained into the coffers of powerful individuals -
political power brokers.

6. We call on the International community and other relevant organisation to: