Amnesty Accuses Shell of Neglecting Niger Delta Infrastructure, Demands Region-wide Cleanup

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Amnesty International has accused Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of failing to adequately maintain its oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta, allegedly contributing to persistent oil pollution and environmental degradation in the region.

The organisation also called for a comprehensive investigation into allegations of possible complicity by some Shell personnel in oil theft, popularly known as illegal bunkering and bribery.

The allegations are contained in a report titled ‘Nigeria: Lifting the Lid,’ published in collaboration with several human rights and environmental organisations. The report examines Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta before the divestment of its onshore subsidiary.

Speaking during the virtual presentation of the report at its formal launch in Port Harcourt, Amnesty International’s Campaign Network Coordinator for Business and Human Rights, Dominic Twomey, said the findings were based on documentary evidence, internal emails, confidential audits and court documents, including materials from legal proceedings involving the Bille and Ogale communities in Rivers State.

According to the report, documents disclosed during legal proceedings in the United Kingdom provide further insight into the management and maintenance of Shell’s former Nigerian operations.

It stated: “The documents’ content vindicates the long-standing complaints of people living in the Niger Delta, as well as the research findings of human rights and environmental justice groups.”

Amnesty International alleged that inadequate maintenance of pipelines and other oil facilities contributed significantly to pollution in the region. 

It also questioned the company’s pipeline repair policies, particularly a 2009 revision that reportedly permitted temporary clamps to serve as permanent repairs in certain circumstances.

The organisation further challenged Shell’s position that most oil spills in its former operational areas resulted from sabotage and illegal tapping of pipelines, insisting that infrastructure maintenance and corporate accountability also required scrutiny.

Amnesty International called on the Nigerian government to compel oil companies operating in the country to conduct and publicly disclose independent audits of their operational and decommissioned infrastructure.

It also urged the government to assess the impact of oil pollution on the health, water resources, fisheries and agricultural livelihoods of affected communities.

The organisation further recommended the establishment of a well-funded environmental restoration fund to support the cleanup of the entire Niger Delta to internationally accepted standards.

Amnesty International also urged the governments of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to examine Shell’s environmental disclosures, investigate the allegations raised in the report and strengthen laws requiring multinational companies to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence across their global operations.

The organisation maintained that comprehensive environmental remediation and corporate accountability were essential to restoring the livelihoods and human rights of communities affected by decades of oil pollution in the Niger Delta.

Responding to the report, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, said the organisation would formally engage the Federal Government to ensure that its recommendations received attention.

He stressed that the ongoing cleanup in Ogoniland should not be treated as a substitute for addressing pollution across the wider Niger Delta.

“We are also calling on all fossil fuel companies operating in Nigeria, including Shell, to contribute to a super fund with sufficient resources to fully clean up the Niger Delta to international standards.

“There is no way you can just clean one small place and think that you have done cleanup for the whole of the Niger Delta. They deserve a good environment,” Sanusi said.

He added that the organisation would write to  President Bola Tinubu and submit a copy of the report, urging the government to investigate the allegations raised.

Also speaking, a campaigner with ReCommon, Eva Pastorelli, said the report presented documentary evidence raising questions about corporate responsibility at different levels of Shell’s management.

She said the findings could provide a basis for further scrutiny of the company’s historical operations and environmental responsibilities in the Niger Delta.

Meanwhile, Team Lead of the Media and Environmental Development Initiative (MEDI), Dr Celestine Akpobari, has urged Amnesty International to pay particular attention to the environmental implications of the divestment of oil assets by multinational companies.

He argued that the transfer of ownership should not leave the affected communities without adequate remediation of polluted sites.

“Those that ran away in the name of divestment must come back to clear up their mess. Who are you leaving the mess for?” he asked.

Akpobari maintained that environmental restoration should extend beyond Ogoniland, noting that pollution in different parts of the Niger Delta was interconnected.

He called for sustained efforts to restore the affected waterways and farmlands, particularly to enable residents to return to fishing and other traditional livelihoods.