Women from the Nissi, Kapam, and Rido communities staged a protest on Monday at the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company over alleged chemical pollution that has reportedly affected their health, farmland, and livelihoods.
The protesters, who gathered at the refinery as early as 6:00 a.m., accused the company of allegedly releasing a harmful chemical in August 2024, which they claim led to widespread illness, destruction of crops, and the death of livestock.
The women’s leader of the Nissi community, Mrs Juliana Abrak, said the chemical emission had rendered farming activities impossible and left many residents sick and hungry.
We are suffering. There is no food, and we have to go elsewhere in search of something to eat. We have fertile land, but we are too afraid to farm,” she lamented.
She also criticised the company’s alleged failure to engage with the protesters, despite their presence at the premises since 5:00 a.m.
A resident of Kapam, Mrs Kelita Yaguda, recounted her own experience with the suspected chemical exposure.
They took some of us to the hospital but only gave us paracetamol and ulcer medication. They promised to treat us for a week but only attended to a few people for two days,” she said.
Yaguda added that no medical tests were carried out, and the community has been left to manage ongoing health issues and worsening food insecurity.
Some of our children have even resorted to stealing out of hunger. We are more than 500 people, yet fewer than 50 received any form of assistance,” she added.
A women’s leader from Kapam, Mrs Lydia Moses, said that KRPC officials had repeatedly claimed compensation would be provided by authorities in Abuja, but no support had materialised.
They came in December, documented the damage, and promised a response within two weeks. It’s now May, and nothing has been done. Our crops have failed, our livestock have died, and some women have even suffered miscarriages,” she said.
The women called on both KRPC and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd to take urgent action to address their health concerns and to compensate affected families.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that, as at the time of filing this report, KRPC officials had yet to respond to the protesters.
