Residents of Kapam community in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, on Friday, protested against the destruction of their farms by a toxic chemical from the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC).
Residents of the community, mostly women trooped out for the protest as early as 6am on Friday,blocking the gate to the refinery and preventing the staff from accessing their offices.
Some of the women wept over their loses.
The community alleged that a chemical discharged from the refinery on Tuesday caused the killing of their animals and the destruction their farm crops worth millions of naira.
The community lamented that the toxic chemical, besides destroying their farms, animals poses serious threat to their health.
The protesters who displayed dead leafs of their dead crops, also carried placards with inscriptions: “Kapam Community in Danger”, “KRPC has Destroyed Our Crops Completely,”
They demanded for compensation for the the destruction of their crops and animals.
They said many residents, who took bank loans to support their farming activities, were at a cross road as their crops had been destroyed.
The protesters further alleged that their community had been neglected in terms of provision of basic amenities, including schools, hospitals, electricity, and basic healthcare, despite being one of the host community to the KRPC
As of the time of this report, the management of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company has not yet responded to the protesters.
Earlier in the year, host communities of the KRPC in Chikun LGA, had protested against the company for allegedly denying employment opportunities to many of their indegenes in the ongoing rehabilitation of the refinery.
