Courage Nsirimovu and Victory Timizimor, Pilex Centre for Civic Education Initiative — The Peoples Advocates, visit a oil and groundwater remediation site in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
The Storyline
Communities in Rivers State in the petroleum-rich Niger Delta have suffered for years due to leaking circa 1950s oil pipes and continuous gas flaring. “The air, water, and soil is absolutely contaminated,” says Courage Nsirimovu, Coordinator, Pilex Centre for Civic Education Initiative (also known as The Peoples Advocates).
Courage and his co-worker Victory Timizimor, Pilex Program Officer, arrived in Eugene from Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in October 2025 to participate in ELAW Fellowships. They are collaborating with our Law and Science Teams to advance their work ensuring that oil companies operating in the densely populated Niger Delta focus on long overdue clean up efforts.
Courage, Victory, and the Pilex team conducted an in-depth assessment of public health and the environment in three impacted communities: Rukpokwu, Rumuekpe, and Ibaa. Their January 2025 report, reviewed by ELAW Science Program Director Dr. Mark Chernaik, revealed drinking water bore holes and wells so contaminated with petroleum that a lit match thrown into these wells exploded in fire balls.
“These formerly vibrant communities are intensely polluted and the sources of their livelihoods are gone,” says Courage. .
“Community health is severely compromised,” says Victory, with Pilex’s report noting community reports of excessive rates of birth deformities, respiratory and eye problems, and early menopause.
Courage and Victory are collaborating on their work with the ELAW Team, getting better connected to the worldwide ELAW Network, and building the capacity of their organization to ensure that community voices in Rivers State are heard and polluted airways, waterways, and soil are cleaned up.