Socio-economic disaster outcomes of artisanal refining in the fringes of IMO River

Artisanal refining along the Imo River, Rivers State, Nigeria, presents a multi-dimensional socio-economic challenge. This study employed a mixed-methods design and the sample size was determined by using the Taro Yamane equation of sample size determination and a sample size of 400 was obtained. Descriptive statistics was used to summarized the data whereas Kruskal–Wallis H tests (χ²) was adopted for analysis of social and economic disaster outcomes across communities. The results showed that 75.4% of the respondents were aware of artisanal refining in the area, and over 80% observed it “often” or “quite often,” indicating entrenched activity pointing poverty (15.1%), unemployment (12.6%), economic incentives (18.1%), and multifactorial causes (27.6%) as major drivers of this hydra-headed issue. The inability of communities to tackle this matter decisively was influenced by fear (30.2%), economic benefits (22.6%), and grievance-related justification (15.1%) as captured in their responses. Social outcomes included crime escalation (WM = 3.18), youth restiveness (WM = 3.17), prostitution (WM = 3.16), and family disintegration (WM = 3.18) while the economic concerns were uniform: income loss (WM = 3.21), farmland destruction (WM = 3.19), loss of fisheries (WM = 3.20), and increased cost of living (WM = 3.17), with χ² tests confirming no significant inter-community differences (p > 0.05). On the basis of the findings, recommendations focused on integrated community development, corporate social responsibility, livelihood diversification, and coordinated regional interventions.