Women for Sustainability (WfS), a Niger-Delta environmental health advocacy group, has attributed the almost disappearance of the ‘soot’ to ongoing military operations to rid the region of economic criminals.

Soot is a deep black powdery or flaky substance consisting largely of amorphous carbon, produced by the incomplete burning of organic matter.

The Convener of the Group, Ms Ibieye Batubo, in a statement on Wednesday, expressed optimism that ‘soot’ would soon be a thing of the past.

Batubo said that soot had appeared in the region following the activities of crude oil and products theft.

She said the people of the region, especially those residing in Port-Harcourt city, were happy that the military was gradually finding solution to the air pollution that had negatively affected the health of the people.

Batubo added that their investigations revealed that, even though it had not been completely eradicated, the situation was far better than what it was before now.

She commended the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, for his commitment towards finding solution to the economic sabotage.

Batubo also urged the troops to sustain their efforts to stop the criminals from stealing the commonwealth of the people and spread diseases in the region.

“While we commend the Defence Headquarters for playing a major role in the reduction of soot in the region, we say it is still not uhuru.

“We want to have an environment devoid of pollution that breeds diseases.

“We, therefore, appeal to the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. LEO Irabor, and his troops not to give in to the antics of the crude oil thieves, some of who are not ready to give up on crime.

“For the very first time, we have a CDS that has visited the region on several occasions because of the economic sabotage,” she added.

The group also appealed to residents of the region to cooperate with troops in solving the noticeable problems.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria