Pilex Centre for Civic Education Initiative has accused Indorama, a multinational fertilizer company operating in Rivers State, of exposing workers to hazardous chemicals without adequate safety measures, warning that such practices endanger both employees and surrounding communities.
Speaking on it, the group coordinator, Courage Nsirimovu, said it received reports from foreign partners late last year concerning the case of Josiah Okpabi, a former contract staff of Indorama allegedly dismissed without due process after raising concerns about workplace hazards.
Pilex Centre alleged that contract staff at the company were regularly exposed to formaldehyde, used in fertilizer preservation, and ammonia, a key ingredient in urea production, without being provided proper protective equipment. According to the group, photographic evidence shows that the company’s locker rooms are located within the same warehouse where fertilizers are produced.
“While full-time staff reportedly receive medical supplements to counter the effects of chemical exposure, contract staff are denied such provisions,” Nsirimovu stated, adding that prolonged inhalation of these chemicals has been linked by research to leukemia, cancer, and respiratory disorders.
The organisation compared the alleged unsafe practices at Indorama to the environmental damage caused by gas flaring and oil spills by multinational oil companies in the Niger Delta, noting that such pollution subjects communities to toxic substances including methane, sulphur, and carbon compounds.
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Pilex Centre said it has conducted environmental and public health impact assessments in affected Niger Delta communities and is preparing legal action against both divested and active oil companies over gas flaring and pollution.
Citing Section 20 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the group stressed that citizens cannot enjoy the right to life and dignity without a clean, safe, and sustainable environment.
It therefore called on federal and state regulatory bodies including NESREA, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NOSDRA, and the Ministry of Environment to urgently investigate Indorama’s operations and curb environmental practices capable of endangering lives.
“These practices are slowly killing our people, and we must act now,” Nsirimovu warned.
