Environmental workers in Nigeria have come under attack while discharging their duties to protect natural resource and the local environment. There has been an increase in such attacks, with most cases going unreported due to threats to the lives of victims, their families, and properties.
According to Mr. Ajose Seun, Agric and Rural Development Director of the Sustainable Environment Food and Agriculture Initiative, SEFAI, a Non-Governmental Organization, (NGO, workers in the sector have been attacked to the point where many are afraid to return to the field.
Ajose noted that Nigeria has a history of environmental defenders being maimed, attacked, kidnapped, tortured, ostracized, and even killed by beneficiaries of environmental crimes.
He cited examples of land grabbers in southwest Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen in northern Nigeria, oil companies, and their community cohorts in the Niger Delta, who have harassed environmental advocates. Edevie remembered the famous Niger Delta environmental activist Ken Saro Wiwa, who resisted environmental degradation and exploitation by oil companies and ultimately lost his life.
Sources in the Niger Delta region, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that they have been attacked and threatened while working on environmental issues. One source recalled being threatened by a CEO of a multinational packaging company and having their phone bugged and strange visitors following them. Another source reported that their house was attacked by agents of polluters after they conducted a clean air campaign.
The sources also narrated experiences of harassment, intimidation, and violence from beneficiaries of environmental pollution, including community elders, militants, and oil companies. They emphasized that these attacks are common in their daily work life and routine.
The environmental rights activists called for increased protection and support for environmental workers, urging the government to take action against environmental crimes and ensure a safe working environment for those protecting the nation's natural resources.
