Shell Divestment: Niger Delta Communities Demand Justice, Remediation

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt 

Some rights groups have decried the recent oil assets divestment by Shell, accusing the oil giant and the federal government of sidelining host communities in a process they said transferred assets and liabilities without adequate consultation.

Executive Director of African Law Foundation (AfriLaw), an Abuja-based justice and human rights development organisation, Chinwike Okereke made the allegation at the weekend in Port Harcourt during an Extractive Host Communities and Human Rights Defenders Training Workshop.

The workshop, organised by AfriLaw in partnership with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), focused on strengthening the capacity of human rights defenders, journalists, community leaders and civil society organisations to protect communities affected by extractive activities across the Niger Delta.

According to the AfriLaw executive director, responsible divestment requires meaningful consultation with communities that have borne the environmental and social consequences of oil production.

He argued that Shell’s divestment process failed to adequately involve affected communities, describing the situation as a violation of their rights and a failure by the government to protect citizens.

“Divestment is not automatic; it is a process and there is a transfer of liabilities and assets,” he said, stressing that communities should have been given the opportunity to participate and protect their interests.

He also faulted the federal government for approving the transaction without ensuring that the welfare and rights of Niger Delta communities were adequately protected.

The AfriLaw chief called on the NHRC and other relevant institutions to initiate a remediation process, insisting that the environmental damage and other legacies of oil operations should not be abandoned after divestment.

He said justice for affected communities must include compensation and remediation of the negative impacts of oil activities.

AfriLaw said the programme is being implemented across the nine Niger Delta states, with further workshops scheduled before October.

Also speaking, the Executive Director of Access Africa for Rights and Development Initiative, Dr David Vareba, warned that Nigeria’s civic space was increasingly shrinking, leaving human rights defenders exposed to pressure from corporate and government actors.

Vareba said human rights defenders often intervene in cases involving oil spills, land grabbing, police brutality and other abuses, but frequently act only after violations have occurred.

He advocated proactive risk assessment, particularly in extractive communities, saying early identification of risks could prevent abuses and improve accountability.

Representing NHRC Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu, the commission’s Rivers representative, Chinwe Okoroji, said the workshop was designed to equip communities, youth groups, activists, media practitioners and civil society organisations with legal and security tools to defend their rights and seek redress.

She said the initiative would strengthen collaboration among communities, human rights defenders and institutions while promoting the protection of rights in Nigeria’s extractive sector.

Umeh Calls for State of Emergency as Erosion Threatens Anambra Communities 

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka 

The senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Dr Victor Umeh, has appealed to the federal government, the Senate and the Anambra State Government to urgently intervene to save Obosi and Ogidi communities in Idemili North Local Government Area from worsening erosion and flooding.

Obosi is the hometown of former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, while Ogidi is the hometown of the late acclaimed novelist, Prof Chinua Achebe.

Umeh made the appeal at the weekend when he undertook an on-the-spot assessment of the erosion menace ravaging communities in the local government area.

This is coming as a group of distressed women at the scene of erosion devastation in Obosi threw themselves on the ground during the visit, crying and appealing for urgent government intervention.

Umeh who inspected the gully called for the declaration of a state of emergency on the general ecological challenges confronting Anambra State, warning that the state’s limited landmass was gradually being “eaten up” by erosion.

He said the scale of the ecological disaster had become too enormous for the Anambra State Government alone to tackle, stressing the need for coordinated intervention by the federal government and other relevant agencies.

At Ugamuma, Obosi, Umeh was confronted by the devastating effects of the erosion, with farmlands and roads already affected and several houses reportedly at risk of being swallowed by the expanding gully.

The senator also visited the home of the traditional ruler of Ogidi community, Igwe Alex Onyido, who was sacked from his palace early in the week by flood.

Umeh said: “I urge the federal government to declare the Idemili Basin an environmental disaster zone in view of the recurring flooding and erosion ravaging the area.

“I will take up the Obosi and Ogidi erosion and flooding crises with the chairman senate committee  on environment. I will also see the minister of environment and other authorities in Abuja.

“Upon the resumption of the senate from recess, I will ensure that the issue is brought before the senate through appropriate legislative action and I will also pursue intervention from relevant federal agencies.

“This palace is the home of the traditional ruler of the Ogidi community. He is a known personality, a pharmacist and has companies that manufacture drugs in this community. So you can see that he is not just an ordinary person. This whole palace was submerged by flood days back and you all saw it on the internet. This is also the community of the world renowned author, the Late Prof China Achebe. So, it’s not a place the government can afford to ignore,” Umeh said.

THISDAY witnessed that several residents within Ugamuma, Obosi area had already abandoned their houses for fear that they may cave in. The erosion also totally cut off people of the area from neighbouring villages as a major road collapsed, leaving behind a huge gully.