As President Muhammadu
Buhari plans to flag off the long-
awaited clean-up of Ogoniland
on Thursday, Amnesty
International has called on the
government not to allow
multinational oil giant, Shell, to
abdicate its responsibilities in
the pollution of the area.
A statement by AI on Tuesday
said Shell was yet to properly
clean up hundreds of oil spills
caused by its operations in the
Niger Delta.
According to AI, in 2015 alone,
Shell was responsible for at least
130 oil spills in the Niger Delta.
The human rights organisation
said even the few clean up done
by Shell fall short of the
acceptable international
standard.
“The Niger Delta is one of the
most oil-polluted places in the
world. That is because
companies like Shell are failing
to prevent or clean up spills
years, sometimes decades, after
they happen. Shell cannot rely
on the Nigerian government to
clean up its dirty work for it,”
said Joe Westby, Business &
Human Rights Campaigner at
Amnesty International.
“The tragedy is that the oil spills
continue to destroy the
livelihoods of thousands of local
people to this day. Shell will tell
you that the vast majority are a
result of theft, even though
Amnesty International has
repeatedly published evidence
showing Shell misstates the
cause of oil spills.
“But whatever their cause,
Nigerian law still says that the
company who operates the
pipeline has to clean up. That is
something Shell has failed to do
for decades.”
In 2011 the United Nations
Environmental Programme
(UNEP), in a report exposing
massive levels of pollution
caused by oil spills from Shell
pipelines in the Ogoniland
region, directed that a comprehensive
clean-up of the area should be undertaken.
Last August, Mr. Buhari directed a fast-track
of the clean-up and pledged $10 million
dollars to be released within 30 days for the
process.
The clean-up, which is to last for 30 years,
will cost $1 billion.
“The start of the clean-up is a much-needed,
long-awaited step for people who have lived
with polluted waters and farmlands for
decades. They have a right to be sceptical,
they have seen clean-ups promised and
people paid to do the work in the past, only
for little improvements to be delivered. This
time the rhetoric must translate into action
on the ground,” said Mr. Westby.
