A legal practitioner, Barrister Oluwole Kehinde who resides at Ibafo area of Ogun State, has slammed N1Billion suit on N N P C GAS Marketing Limited over alleged hazardous gas valve plant operations of the company in residential area.
In a statement of claim accompanied by written statement on oath sworn to by the plaintiff and filed before a Federal high court in Ogun state by Mr.Oluwole Kehinde himself, he avers that sometime in October, 2015 some agents and or officers of the NIGERIA GAS COMPANY LIMITED, cause a huge pipe to be laid on the surface of the soil, and across the road leading to his residence, thereby causing nuisance and obstructing access to his premises.
Such acts of nuisance prevented and obstructed access to his residence,as a result, himself and other members of his family including his wife and little children had to either climb the huge pipe or go a far distant place to either exit or enter the access road to his premises at a great pain and inconveniences.
By the actions of the officers and or agents of the Nigeria Gas Company Limited he was forced to be parking his cars by the side of the main road, members of his family went through a great deal of inconvenience and pain having to park, load and unloaded goods and personal effects from and into the house and the vehicles from far distance.
The Nigeria Gas Company Limited posted some Notices on the premises around the entrance to his residence, confirming its activities relating to the laying of the pipes.
The Plaintiff avers that consequently, he wrote a letter dated 19th October 2015 to the Nigeria Gas Company Limited demanding an immediate abatement of the aforementioned nuisance caused by the officers and or agents of the Company, and for payment of compensation to the Plaintiff, until date, the Company has not replied to the said letter, nor offer any compensation to him.
Sometime in 2022, Nigeria Gas Company commenced construction and installation off steel structures, machineries tanks, offices on a large expand of land near his residence.
Consequently, the Plaintiff’s community leaders caused a letter to be written to the Company requesting information about the Company’s business’ focus and Environmental Impact Assessment thereof for the review and guidance of members of the said community.
The Company, however, failed to respond to the request of the community leaders, but continued to carry on its construction activities.
The Plaintiff asserts that his family and other members of the community had been living around the environment not less than 10 years before the Defendant started the construction of their site in the area.
The entire community is strictly a residential area long before the advent of the Defendant and has remained so until now.
The Defendant has remained defiant, adamant, irresponsive and irresponsible to the requests and enquries of members of the Plaintiff’s community about the Defendant’s business’s focus and concern.
Subsequently, around the beginning of November 2023, the Defendant commenced gas-related operations at the site which has resulted in persistent humming, loud noises, intense vibrations, and various disturbances emanating from the site.
The disruptions have deeply affected the entire vicinity surrounding the Defendant’s site, causing chronic irritation, physical pain, heightened anxiety, considerable discomfort, sleep disturbances, and a range of related hardships among the residents in the area.
The operations of the Defendant’s business have been observed to actively contribute to severe environmental pollution, presenting health hazards and substantial environmental degradation in the surrounding area.
Continuous emissions from these operations have led to the contamination of air, soil, and water sources,posing an imminent threat of a disastrous environmental situation.
This ongoing pollution has shown a direct correlation with increased health risks among the community members, including respiratory illnesses,skin conditions,and potential long-term health complications.
Additionally, the environmental degradation caused by these operations has the potential to escalate into a significant and widespread disaster if immediate and stringent measures are not implemented to curtail the adverse impacts.
The nuisance proceeding from the Defendant’s operations is endless, reckless, pervasive, pervading, irritating, and worrisome to the Plaintiff and members of the community.
The Plaintiff avers that the Defendant’s use of the land vis-à-vis the gas station is unusual and gas is toxicant and dangerous to human health,It causes skin diseases, cancer, damage to lungs and reproductive systems and so on.
It also leads to major social and psychological impact like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
An NGC valve station, associated with the Defendant, refers to a facility or location within the natural gas pipeline network where valves are installed and managed for the control and regulation of gas flow.
Valve stations can present negative implications or challenges when not properly managed or in case of malfunctions.
