Laboratory analysis has revealed that the water colouration at Ukwunzu, an agrarian community nestled in Aniocha North local government area of Delta state is not connected with the coal mining activities of MOSRA Energy Ltd, a coal mining firm in Ugwuoba, also in the council area.
The laboratory investigation was carried out by Delta State Environmental Protection Agency (DELSEPA) and NEWMAP and analysis reports were read before the commissioner for environment, Ejiro Jamani, and representatives of the affected communities in the commissioner’s office on Tuesday. The reports were read by Mr. Victor Okolie, General Manager of DELSEPA and Benedict Nwaokocha, Project Coordinator of NEWMAP.
According to the coordinator of Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), Mr. Nwaokocha, a team of five senior officers from the agency visited Ukwunzu stream on February 7, 2024 to ascertain the cause of the water pollution.
NEWMAP report revealed that the localized earth movement from the landslide caused the valley to cave in, hence depositing itself on the sources of the stream, thereby changing its colour. The report said the earth from the detached wall is what is being washed through one of the furrows into the stream.
Mr. Nwaokocha, in the report, insisted that the information provided was to debunk claims by MOSRA Energy that the pollution of the stream was caused by laterite used by NEWMAP for its construction job.
He said with the discovery of the localized earth movement around the gully, it is imperative to state that the contamination of the water body should be attributed to natural causes.
General Manager of DELSEPA, Mr. Benedict Okolie, in his report, told the commissioner that the laboratory analysis did not in any way indict MOSRA Energy as the cause of the colouration of water flowing through Ukwunzu.
Members of the Ukwunzu community represented by Okolie Kaikenechuku, Ike Uwagwu and others, disagreed with the report as presented by DELSEPA, exonerating activities of MOSRA Energy from being cause of the water contamination.
Speaking for the community, Okolie argued that the community employed the services of a professor at the University of Calabar, who gave a contrary report.
Okolie argued that NEWMAP and MOSRA Energy cannot be exonerated from the cause of water pollution in the community. He said these two organisations are complicit in the contamination of the Ukwunzu water. He said laterite found in the water is a product of the activity of NEWMAP.
He said: “On the pollution of the water we accuse MOSRA Energy Ltd, but on the laterite in the water, we accuse NEWMAP. NEWMAP cannot be exonerated. The laterite in the water is caused by the activity of NEWMAP. If we say otherwise, we are certainly wrong.”
Kaikenechukwu added: “The activity of MOSRA Energy is the cause of the water pollution. Before the coal mining in the community started, there was no pollution of water. It was when the mining started, the water colour changed.”
General Manager of DELSEPA disagreed with Kaikenechukwu, insisting that the report from the water analysis carried out by his agency did not in any way indict MOSRA Energy as being the cause of the water pollution. He told the commissioner and the community members that the report he read was not his making, hence recommended a post impact assessment.
Speaking on behalf of MOSRA Energy, Fred Nnamso, Health, Safety and Environment Officer, said the coal mining activity of his firm has nothing to do with waste which the company is being accused of disposing into the river.
He said: “We are not mining liquid. It is solid mineral. It is like digging yam tuber from the ground and covering it back. We don’t have waste. It is things like sachet water or food wrapper that we use and dispose but no operational wastes.
“The distance between where we have our mining and the water is much. The place we mine, the water there is clean as bottled water. We have no issue with the community. Presently, we mine at Kogi, we have no issue with the water there.
“We don’t use explosive and no processing. We use machine to remove the sand and bring out the coal. We do not generate any wastes that can contaminate water.”
Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Jamani, having listened to all the parties, said reports from the laboratory analysis did not indict MOSRA Energy as the cause of water colouration. He said the investigation was not motivated by any side.
He said the whole process was being carried out for the sake of peace between the community and the coal mining firm. However, he called on MOSRA to carry the community members along in the execution of its project.
He advised MOSRA to go back to the drawing board, sit with the community leaders, youth bodies and others and iron out issues being raised by the community people.
He advised the firm to hold a roundtable discussion with the community people, though report has proved that MOSRA Energy is not indicted.
“From our findings, the activities of MOSRA Energy neither have anything to do with water pollution nor water colouration. However, we have also discovered that the community kings are not carrying the people along. People of the community and MOSRA should come to a roundtable and end the matter,” the commissioner said.
