Ebonyi: Ishiagu Community Condemns Pollution, Demands Accountability
By Abraham Ovuoba
The people of Ishiagu community in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have strongly condemned the alarming level of environmental pollution allegedly caused by companies operating in the area.
The residents are accusing them of endangering lives due to the contamination of their primary water sources that is streams stressing that the once safe rivers are now toxic with devastating consequences on public health. Some of the community leaders lamented that no fewer than 40 persons have reportedly died in the past two years from illnesses linked to polluted drinking water, describing the situation as both tragic and avoidable.
Corroborating the claim, the Chairman of the Human Rights and Social Justice Initiative, Mr. Ibeabuchi Levi Aja, stated that his organisation promptly petitioned the police for intervention upon receiving reports of the incident. He further called on the companies involved to immediately stop the pollution in the interest of public health, adding that his group has also contacted the Department of Geology and Mining at Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, to conduct tests on the water for possible toxic contamination.
Similaly, Chairman, Amagu Community Progressive Union (ACPU), Mr. Lawrence Orji told journalists in Abakaliki that repeated complaints to the companies over the health hazards posed by their operations had yielded no results adding that the water is no longer fit for consumption.
Orji called on security personnel and the Ebonyi State Government to come to the aid of the community, adding that residents can no longer access safe drinking water.
Similarly, legal counsel to the community, Barrister Uba Decency Chukwu, confirmed that companies including Abatone, Green Field and others have been contaminating the community’s water body. He added that the pollution had spread beyond Amagu to neighbouring villages such as Okpanku.
Speaking further, the counsel disclosed that the community which have been demanding action from the company has since institute a legal proceeding.
The people of Ishiagu known for their industrious nature and farming await urgent government intervention especially at enforcing environmental regulations policies and compensation to the community.
