Oil spillage is common in oil-producing communities of Nigeria and it impacts negatively on the lives of the residents of these communities. This study analysed available research data on oil spillage incidents in these communities to determine the main causes of the spillage and its impacts on the residents. A systematic review of published studies was carried out and 20 studies were identified from the literature search. The main causes of oil spills were identified as sabotage, oil theft, illegal refining, mystery spill, operational failures, and corrosion. Over 70% of the spillages were discovered to be as a result of sabotage by restive youths. Oil spillage was found to impact on the health, source of livelihood, food security, basic amenities, and socio-economic state of the residents. The major interventions were initiated by multinational companies and were targeted at improving health services, education, infrastructure, skill acquisition, and employment, which will in turn reduce the occurrence of violence, insurgency, and human trafficking in the oil-producing communities. This study highlights the immediate and long-term consequences of oil spills on the residents of oil-host communities in Nigeria. The causes of the spills were attributed mainly to the inaction of government regulatory agencies in oil exploration. Thus, it is recommended that government regulatory agencies should be revamped and repositioned to effectively perform their duties. Interventions should be targeted at addressing the causes of the agitation of the indigenes by involving them in the decision-making process. Also, an appropriate remediation strategy should be adopted to clean up the oil spills.

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With the world's population growing at an exponential rate, pollution of the ecosystem by heavy metals from anthropogenic activities poses a major threat to agricultural and food security worldwide. Phytohormones are biochemical signal molecules that alter plant responses to different biotic and abiotic stresses. Exogenous use of microbially produced phytohormone in heavy metal remediation and stress tolerance induction, has gained popularity due to its environmental friendliness and sustainability. Microbially produced phytohormones have huge biotechnological potentials and have been exploited in phytoremediation assisted removal of heavy metals, and inducing stress tolerance to plants. This paper exhaustively discusses the remedial roles of microbial phytohormones in heavy metal removal and enhancing plant tolerance to stress. However, the exact mechanism of action and the genetic interplay during the process need to be further studied to better understand the specific key pathways involved in the process.

The present study aims to evaluate the antibacterial profile of Brysocarpus coccineus and Zanthoxylum piperitum in Nigeria. The antibacterial efficacy of methanolic leaf extracts of Brysocarpus coccineus and Zanthoxylum piperitum was determined against six clinical isolates and three typed cultures respectively. The percentage yield of the extracts was calculated, and it showed 5.6% for Brysocarpus coccineus and 4% for Zanthoxylum piperitum. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the two extracts showed the presence of saponins, steroids, glycosides, flavonoids and resin. The extracts effectively inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis at different concentrations. The extract of B. coccineus inhibited S. aureus, K. pneumonia and P. aeruginosa at different concentration, while that of Z. piperitum inhibited S. aureus and P. aeruginosa at different concentration. B. coccineus extract had its MIC at 6.25 mg/ml against clinical isolate of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. Z. piperitum methanolic extract had its MIC at 6.25 mg/ml against clinical isolate Bacillus subtilis. All the plants extract had no activity against Salmonella typhi, and B. coccineus had no activity against Klebsiella pneumonia. The results of statistical analysis (ANOVA) of the B. coccineus showed that F-cal. is greater than F-tab. This means there is a significant difference in the activity of the extract, while that of Z. piperitum showed that F-cal is less than F-tab. meaning there is no significant difference in the activity of the extract. This reveals the importance of leaf extracts of B. coccineus and Z. piperitum in the control of resistant microbial strains.

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