In April 2019, an oil explosion that caused a 90-day blaze disrupted the quietness of Ojuimole, an ancient oil mining community in Ilaje, Ondo State. The explosion came from an oil well that Chevron, one of the largest oil companies in Nigeria, had claimed was dry. The fire devastated the residents’ major livelihood, fishing, while also harming their health and environment.
Five years later, the community is yet to recover. FIJ’s Opeyemi Lawal visited Ojuimole and found lingering effects of the blaze that marked a turning point for the community.
“Fire! Fire, Fire! An oil well has exploded! An oil pipe has burst!” These words shattered the peace in Ojuimole, in Ugboland, Ilaje, on the afternoon of April 18. 2019.
Ojuimole sits quietly on the Atlantic coastline. This small community straddles the murky waters that hold its history, wealth and survival. This area, rich with crude oil, serves as the community’s lifeline and its greatest threat.
Under the warm morning sun of November 29, colourful stilt houses with shiny roofing sheets stood tall. Young children chattered, ran and played, their feet pounding against the wooden footbridges that linked the community. The bridges stretched long and winding, some sturdy, others dangerously loose, dangling by a nail that threatened to plunge a careless walker into the dark mud below.
The children paid no mind to the marsh beneath them. They ran in circles, laughing, mimicking the “vrrr-vrrr” of passing boats that splashed water in their wake. In the distance, the clinking of a spoon against a plate and the slamming of dice in a ludo game mingled with the gentle crashing of waves. Yet, despite the sounds, Ojuimole remained still, almost eerily quiet.
That same tranquillity existed five years ago, as Adetola Oluwole, one of the community elders, later recalled.
“Before the explosion, life here was peaceful,” he said solemnly. “We fished without issues, and our water was clean.”
That peace was shattered on the afternoon of April 18. Shouts of “Fire! Fire! Fire!” and “An oil well has exploded!” filled the air in the Ilaje dialect. Residents rushed from their homes, only to find themselves engulfed in thick smoke.
Ojuimole sits by the Altantic Ocean in Ilaje, Ondo State. Photo credit: Opeyemi Lawal/FIJ.
In the most solemn voice laced with reminiscing, Oluwole said, “Before the explosion, our life here was peaceful and quiet. We fished without issues, and our water was clean.”
Their lives changed on the afternoon of April 18 when the shouts of “Fire! Fire! Fire!” “An oil well has exploded!” “An oil well has exploded” rented in the air in the Ilaje dialect. The residents ran out of their homes to find themselves engulfed in thick smoke caused by a blaze.
The footbridges connect all the homes in Ojuimole. Tiny fishes jumped and played in the marsh underneath them.
Yomi Samuel, a leader in Ojuimole, remembered how the commotion pushed him outside. “I stepped out and saw that everywhere was covered in black smoke,” he told FIJ, sitting in his stilt home above the marsh. The fire burned intensely, its cause unknown. “Chevron said the well was dry, yet it burned with such fervour.”
The community is still in court with Chevron over the explosion’s damages. “If the well was truly dry, how did it catch fire?” Samuel asked.
For three months, no fishing or farming could take place. “We watched our fish die, and our water became polluted,” he said. “The fire blocked our paths to the sea, making movement impossible.”
A video of the blaze published in November 2019.
Another video published by Sahara Reporters in 2019 showed the raging blaze. “This is the consequence of Chevron’s negligence on Ikoriwo Land. This field is called Ojuimole Field, Ikoriwu,” a voice behind the camera said. “The fire is so intense, it so heavy, it has destroyed all the crops, it has destroyed the environment, in fact, the ground is vibrating.”
Ojuimole sits still and quiet under the morning sun.
An audio interview with residents who do not want to be named.
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POISONED WATER
Oluwole, appearing to be in his early sixties, twirled a bunch of keys on his index finger as he recounted the community’s losses. “It wasn’t just about the farmlands,” he said. “We lost livestock, and our water became undrinkable.”
Blackened roofs and walls bore witness to the fire’s impact.
“Whenever it rained, the water was poisonous. Animals that drank it died. Many villagers fell sick. The smoke was so thick it felt like Harmattan, though it wasn’t the season. People suffered from catarrh, eye problems and other illnesses,” the elder said.
“When rainwater from the roof mistakenly mixed with drinking water, people would purge uncontrollably.”
In one video the Independent Television (ITV) published a few months after the incident in 2019, residents of Ojuimole said that the explosion caused widespread diseases and infections in their community. They said the explosion brought a stop to their fishing activities as none of the fish survived it.
“Our people are dying due to this gas that is giving off every day. it has affected our people and caused a lot of damage to our environment. Our people can no longer go to the bush to find food to eat. The explosion happened about 60 days ago but they have been unable to quench the fire,” one of the residents said at the time.
Joshua Iromidun and Adegbayi Olumide, two residents, walked cautiously on the creaking footbridges. One was tall and broad, the other short and slim, contrasting figures but bound by the same tragedy.
They recalled how nearly everyone in the small community was forced out of their homes and jobs.
“The explosion forced us out of our jobs and ruined our small economy,” Iromidun told FIJ. “Eating became a problem. Our water was polluted. We couldn’t fish to earn money. And no aid came.”
“When it first happened, they lied to us,” he added. “They said the well was dry. How does a dry well erupt in flames? They didn’t send us drugs or water. Feeding became hard. Nobody cared.”
Residents had to buy sachet water for cooking and bathing.
“Rainwater mixed with soot from the fire. If you drank it, you’d purge uncontrollably,” Olumide said.
“You would have seen visible evidence of the damages it caused but people have changed their ceilings due to the passage of time, so we can’t have pictures of the incident on them. A water borehole was made, which was supposed to be in Ojumole, but Kabiyesi said it should be in Ajegunle, being the centre of the seven villages affected by the fire. Despite the fact that the water was in Ajegunle, there was no pipe to pass the water to other villages, so we still had to buy water.”
FIVE YEARS LATER, FISH IN THE WATER STILL DIE
The water surrounding Ojuimole on November 29, was calm as the wooden fishing boat drove to the explosion scene. The boat tilted left and right, threatening to throw everyone onboard into the sea.
“We are lucky the sea is not turbulent today,” Temitola, one of the boat occupants said.
Twenty minutes later, the Ojuimole Oil field engulfed with fire and smoke for nearly 90 days was in view. The area which blazed a yellow fire three months back in 2019 was now covered with Red Mangrove plants. Opposite it, sat clusters of green bushes with tainted black on the edges.
The plants looked healthy but their edges showed impacts of what the explosion might have done to the environment. They were darker than the other parts of the plants. They also appeared to grow at a slower rate compared to the ones far from the edge.
Adebayo Paruse, a resident of Ojuimole, who steered the local speed boat to the site of the explosion pointed at the scene. “This is where the explosion happened and the fire burned continuously,” he said in the Ilaje dialect.
He pointed at the Red Mangroves which span hectares of land and affirmed that they were there as a result of Chevron’s intervention to heal Ojuimole.
The exact spot of the blaze. The roots of the plants
“Chevron planted these Red Mangroves so our environment could regain all it lost with the blaze. They bought the seedlings and also did the planting,” Paruse explained.
On the return trip, as he steered the boat, Paruse pointed at a dead fish. He told FIJ that fish still die in their ocean because of the oil field explosion.
Red Mangrove to heal the environment.
This was an echo of Oduwole’s fears about their children never getting to know some of the local fish species found in their water.
“There are fishes that have gone and disappeared as a result of the explosion. They have completely disappeared and our children will never get to know them,” Paruse told FIJ.
He shook his head and said, “They have gone into extinction and didn’t return even years after the incident.”
Ayodeji Bamitale, a fashion designer who shuffles between Ojuimole and Igbokoda, had earlier told FIJ from his home that he was forced to embrace the craft of fabrics full-time after the explosion happened.
He pointed at the sea in reminiscence and nostalgia, the explosion had taken away from him, a hobby he used to enjoy with his father.
“My former job used to be fishing, and when the event happened, the fire outbreak affected the water. During that period, there were so many fish floating dead on the water,” he told FIJ.
“Also, after that time, the rate at which fish were in the water reduced, and at some point, fishing stopped. I used to enjoy fishing with my father but that does not happen anymore.”
Tiny dead fishes in the river close to the site of the explosion.
As Paruse spoke, tiny dead fish floated near the site of the explosion serving as silent reminders of a disaster that still haunts Ojuimole.
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HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED?
To understand how much of the environment surrounding the Ojuimole Field has changed, FIJ used NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), a satellite imagery open-source tool that provides data related to active fire across the globe, to confirm the heat waves on specific dates.
FIRMS showed a huge fire on April 1, a day after the fire started in Ojuimole.
Satellite imagery of the fire incident on April 19.
FIJ also used Google Earth Pro, a geospatial mapping software, to explore locations and view historical imagery to see how the Ojuimole Field changed before and after the blaze.
An image from December 2018, using the coordinates from the site of the blaze, shows it only covered with clouds with lush vegetation around it. The presence of the river was visible and all appeared to be in good shape. This shows an image of the area only four months before the explosion.
A satellite image of the field before the explosion in 2019.
By August 2019, the landscape had changed, showing the blazed ground. This is four months after the explosion rocked Ojuimole and sent residents out of their homes.
The Ojuimole field which was green and lush in August 2019, had become dark due to intense burning.
With each date, satellite imagery shows the environment’s slow recovery. There was no image for 2020.
An image of the field in October 2021.
Imagery from December 2023.
The latest satellite imagery of the area from January 2024.
The imagery from 2024 shows that some part of the riverbed is still blackened and yet to return to what it was like in 2019 before the explosion happened.
EXPERT SPEAKS
Olumide Idowu, an environmental expert, told FIJ that the environmental impact of the oil explosion in Ojuimole remains evident five years later.
Idowu acknowledged the replanting of Red Mangroves as a step towards restoration but noted that ecosystem recovery takes time, especially after severe contamination. He explained that factors such as soil health, water quality and biodiversity play a crucial role in the process.
According to him, the presence of dead fish suggests that the ecosystem has not fully healed, raising concerns about the effectiveness of remediation efforts. He stated that with pollution and habitat degradation still present, a full recovery within this period is unlikely.
“The oil explosion in Ojuimole caused significant ecological damage, which explains why the environment still exhibits signs of distress five years later,” Idowu told FIJ.
“Although the planting of Red Mangroves marks a positive move towards restoration, ecosystem recovery is typically a gradual process, especially following such severe contamination. Key factors like soil health, water quality and local biodiversity significantly influence the pace of recovery.
“The observation of dead fish suggests that the ecosystem has not fully healed, indicating that remediation efforts may have fallen short or that the explosion’s effects are still being felt. Consequently, it is reasonable to conclude that complete environmental recovery within this timeframe is unlikely, particularly given the ongoing issues of pollution and habitat degradation.”
Idowu said the community and the oil company must collaborate to achieve complete restoration. He stressed that it is important to prioritise extensive remediation, including thorough soil and water decontamination, alongside continuous environmental monitoring.
For the community, the environmental expert suggested that participating in restoration efforts, like planting Red Mangroves, could foster a sense of responsibility. He also noted that educational workshops on conservation and resilience would empower residents to advocate for their environment.
“The oil company should focus on extensive remediation efforts, which include thorough decontamination of soil and water, as well as continuous monitoring of environmental conditions,” Idowu stated.
“Furthermore, they could support community-driven initiatives that encourage sustainable agricultural practices and alternative livelihoods to lessen reliance on fishing.
“For the community, engaging in restoration projects like the planting of Red Mangroves can cultivate a sense of responsibility and stewardship for their environment. Also, hosting educational workshops on environmental conservation and resilience can empower residents to advocate for their needs.”
One expert who spoke with FIJ anonymously said that the dark edges of the plant show that the environment is yet to recover from the explosion.
“Five years is a long time for the environment to recover but the blackened edges are worrisome and suggest something despite the Red Mangroves in the area,” she said.
“It could also mean that the environmental healing process is slow.”
NO RESPONSE FROM CHEVRON
On January 21, when FIJ first called Victor Anyaegbudike, the communications manager of Chevron Nigeria, for a reaction to the explosion and the interventions the company had made in Ojuimole, he asked to be texted.
He didn’t respond to FIJ’s texts. Multiple text messages and follow-up calls to him on January 22, 24 and 27 have also not been responded to as of press time.
Meanwhile in 2019, when the first blaze from the fire hit the air, Chevron insisted that the Ojuimole Well 1 “was idle and had no flowline connected to it” and that the fire was caused by a third-party interference with no impact on the neighbouring communities.
WhatsApp messages sent to Victor Anyaegbudike.
However, Anyaegbudike claimed that the oil-producing company stopped operating in Ojuimole in 1998 and had since abandoned the oil well.
This is despite Samuel telling FIJ that there is an ongoing legal battle between their community and the oil company. He said that the firm has also taken steps towards remedying the damage by providing Red Mangrove seedlings to be planted around the scene of the explosion to heal the environment.
“Chevron keeps claiming it was a dry oil well but we have an ongoing court case with them. They also brought Red Mangrove to plant at the scene of the incident. This was besides the pockets of intervention in 2019,” he told FIJ.
“Although they did not provide us with water, we got that from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).”
The oil company took donations to the community despite the initial denial that they had not caused the explosion. They also provided the residents with food and drug aid.
According to the Nigerian Oil Spill Monitor, a public database on oil spills collected by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), an oil company is always responsible for any oil spill clean-up, regardless of the cause.
Editor’s note: Interviewees did not consent to have their real names in print.
This story was produced with support from the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability Project (CMEDIA) funded by the MacArthur Foundation.
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