IKEDURU’S SLEEPING OILFIELDS: THE NATIONAL ARCHIVE FILES THAT REVEAL HOW IMO’S OIL SECRETS WERE BURIED FOR 75 YEARS
By Emeka Amaefula
For generations, the people of Ikeduru Local Government Area whispered about the same mystery: Shell once drilled here. They spoke of steel pipes swallowed by the bush, signs of gas leaking through the soil, buried evidence of forgotten oil wells, and foreign engineers who came silently and left even more silently.
But until recently, these stories lived only in memory and folklore — shadows of events that older villagers insisted had happened in the early 1950s.
That ended dramatically on November 11, 2025, when the Imo State House of Assembly exploded into debate over what may be Nigeria’s most neglected oil discovery. And now, newly unearthed National Archives documents have put hard evidence behind the whispers.
These files confirm that Shell D’Arcy did drill in Ikeduru.
They did pay rent to local families.
They did secure drilling rights.
And they did leave wells behind.
For the first time in decades, the truth has documentation.
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES REVEAL WHAT SUCCESSIVE GOVERNMENTS IGNORED
The breakthrough came when official National Archives records — File No. 822, Volume III — resurfaced. Stamped “CERTIFIED TRUE COPY” and signed by the Assistant Chief Archivist, the documents confirm Shell D’Arcy’s operations in Ikeduru between 1951 and 1954.
One of the clearest revelations appears in the 1951 agreement, which states: “We, the undersigned owners of the land… DO HEREBY AGREE to rent the above described site to the Shell D’Arcy Exploration Parties for a period of years…”
The agreement specifies: compensation for crops and economic trees, consultation with the District Officer and Agricultural Officer, and an annual rent of £90 — a substantial sum at the time.
Most importantly, the agreement also states: “…we have no objection to the Shell D’Arcy Exploration Parties placing drilling and other material on the site pending the conclusion of formalities.
This is not rumor.
Not folklore.
Not an exaggerated village tale.
But it is archival evidence.
THE 1954 LETTER THAT PROVES THE DRILLING WAS REAL
Another document dated 22nd February 1954, addressed to the District Officer, Owerri, from Shell D’Arcy Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, states: “In accordance with an Agreement made on 17th February 1951… we pay £90 a year as compensation for disturbance of surface rights.”
The same letter further acknowledges a dispute involving the distribution of this payment, and confirms that Shell deposited the annual rent with the authorities pending resolution.
This is smoking-gun confirmation that Shell was actively engaged in a drilling operation, was paying for land access, and expected to operate for several years.
The documents include signatures, witness names, official stamps, and checked receipts — corroborating a fully functional oil exploration relationship between Shell D’Arcy and the Iho community.
THE IMO ASSEMBLY SHOCKER THAT REIGNITED THE DEBATE
When Hon. Johnleoba Iheoha rose on the Assembly floor on November 11, 2025, he did not come with mere speculation. He came armed with these same archival files, geological reports, and local testimonies.
His declaration shook the chambers “Shell drilled here in 1950. The wells still exist. The crude oil and gas deposits in Ikeduru are now in commercial quantity. Imo can tap from it for the next 200 years.”
Lawmakers gasped.
Some exchanged troubled glances. Others pored over the photocopies Iheoha laid before them.
For many in that chamber, this was their first encounter with the buried history of Ikeduru’s oilfields.
WHY WAS THIS FILE BURIED FOR 70+ YEARS?
The investigation now raises disturbing but urgent questions:
Why did Shell leave?
Why were these documents never publicized?
Why did successive governments never revisit this discovery?
Who benefited from the silence? Was the potential intentionally suppressed?
Why did it take 75 years for this information to reach the Assembly floor? The archival file — dusty, forgotten, but now resurfaced — shows that the discovery was not abandoned due to lack of oil.Something else happened. And now, the Assembly wants answers.
SIGNS OF OIL THAT NEVER STOPPED
For years, locals have continued reporting strange geological behaviours: gas flares when digging shallow pits, heat emissions from certain portions of the red earth,
crude-like stains appearing after rainfall, and foreign survey teams visiting at dawn and leaving at dusk.
A private geophysical survey in 2012 confirmed gas pockets of significant volume.
None of it triggered official action.Until now according to Hon. Johnleoba Iheoha there are avalanche of foreign Financial Development partners who are ready to invest in the exploration and exploitation of Ikeduru hydrocarbons extractive industry.
FOREIGN INVESTORS ALREADY CIRCLING
Iheoha revealed that several foreign energy developers — including companies from the Middle East and Canada — have requested preliminary engagement with Imo State.
These firms reportedly reviewed archival maps and new hydrocarbon readings and were stunned that such a region has remained dormant.
One investor was quoted as saying: “Nigeria may be sitting on an undisclosed hydrocarbon belt here.”
WHAT IMO STANDS TO GAIN IF THIS IS CONFIRMED
Experts predict that a successful revival of Ikeduru’s oilfields could: Create over 15,000 direct and indirect jobs. Stimulate industrial growth around Owerri, Okigwe, and Mbaitoli. Establish gas-fired power plants and fertilizer industries. Sharply increase Imo’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR),reduce reliance on federal allocations,turn Ikeduru into a major oil and gas corridor. Politically and economically, this could transform Imo State’s future.
THE SLEEPING GIANT STIRS
From local whispers to National Archives documents, from village testimonies to Assembly debates, Ikeduru’s long-forgotten oil story is finally resurfacing.
This time, it is backed by evidence, history, and official federal records.
Whether the wells will roar back to life remains to be seen, but one thing is undeniable: Ikeduru’s oil story is no longer myth. It is documented reality — and Nigeria must now face it.
————–Emeka Amaefula —–+234(0)8111813069—-
