Oil pollution in Kegbara-Dere (K-Dere) community in Ogoniland, Rivers State, Niger Delta, Nigeria. This community has experienced multiple oil spills since Shell started operations there in the 1960s. September 2015. © Michael Uwemedimo/cmapping.net

Shell’s pipelines in Ogoniland are old and poorly maintained. There have been several spills and in 2009 there was a huge fire, at the Bomu Manifold, at K. Dere, Rivers state. September 2015. © Michael Uwemedimo/cmapping.net

Dead periwinkles covered in oily mud from Bodo creek, Nigeria, May 2011. There were two massives spills in August 2009 from a poorly maintained Shell pipeline. © Amnesty International

Signboard warning people not to enter stream that has been contaminated by oil spills, Ogale, Rivers State, Nigeria. Every year there are hundreds of spills in the Niger Delta, and clean-up is often slow and ineffective. © Amnesty International

3.2 ENVIRONMENTAL CASES (Pages 16, 17, 18 & 10)

There are three separate legal proceedings taking place against Shell in Dutch and British courts relating to oil pollution. This has devastated the Niger Delta.

Data from Shell’s own spill incident reports reveal that from 2011-18 the company reported a huge number of spills – 1,010 – along the network of pipelines and wells that it operates.25 Spills have a variety of causes – from third-party tampering, to operational faults and corrosion of aged facilities. Shell blames most spills on theft and pipeline sabotage, and are not due to its own negligence.26 read more

The Ogoni Case is a Simple Demand for Basic Rights and Justice – MOSOP

Call for the Exoneration of Ken Saro-Wiwa and Others

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) says all the Ogoni people want in Nigeria is respect for the rights of the people and justice. President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke made this known yesterday in Port Harcourt in a speech to mark the 24th anniversary of the U.N Secretary General’s fact-finding mission to Ogoni which noted that the Special Tribunal which ordered the murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa had no jurisdiction to try Saro-Wiwa and the others.

Nsuke said it was shameful that Nigeria’s response to a simple and justifiable demand for basic rights and justice by the Ogoni people in Nigeria was repression by state security forces and the hounding by Shell through its agents which led to the death of thousands of innocent Ogonis. read more

Esther Kiobel and Victoria Bera sit with their lawyer as a Dutch court hears the first arguments in an historic case against Shell, in which the oil giant stands accused of instigating a raft of horrifying human rights violations committed by the Nigerian government against the Ogoni people in the 1990s, on February 12, 2019 in The Hague, Netherlands. © Pierre Crom/Getty Images

 KIOBEL AND OTHERS V SHELL

Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta were first, and most effectively, put under the spotlight in the 1990s by Ken Saro-Wiwa, an acclaimed Nigerian writer. Saro-Wiwa led a community organisation in his home area, Ogoniland, called the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). MOSOP said that while outsiders had grown rich on the oil that was pumped from under their soil, pollution from oil spills and gas flaring had, “led to the complete degradation of the Ogoni environment, turning our homeland into an ecological disaster.”10 read more

Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer.4

Its industry is based in the Niger Delta, in the south of the country, where Shell first found oil in commercially viable quantities near the village of Oloibori in 1956, when Nigeria was still a British colony.5

The Niger Delta has since become Africa’s most valuable oil-producing region.

The industry is run by joint ventures between the Nigerian government and multinational companies. Shell has always been the most important of these. Shell runs its oil operations in Nigeria through its subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). It is a major shareholder and the operator of the country’s largest joint venture, which produces almost 40 percent of Nigeria’s oil.6 read more

The Nigerian government on Monday lost a bid to postpone a massive claim against oil giants, Eni and Shell, in a London court.

Royal Dutch Shell and Eni’s bid to block a $1.1 billion civil claim over corruption allegations in Nigeria will go ahead next month, Mark Pelling, a judge in a London court ruled on Monday.

The court ruled that it should not wait for a connected Italian ruling.

Nigeria wanted the April court date postponed until January 2021, when a connected criminal case in Milan will have concluded. read more

Says Ogoni Demands for Self Determination is Justifiable

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has again called for the exoneration of the nine innocent Ogoni activists killed on November 10, 1995 by the Nigerian government.

In an interview with Voice of America”s James Butty in Washington DC president of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke said one critical aspect of the Ogoni problem that must be addressed is the exoneration of the nine Ogoni activists executed by the Nigerian government on November 10, 1995

Listen to the VOA interview available here read more

On 28 August 2008 a fault in the Trans-Niger pipeline resulted in a massive oil spill into Bodo Creek in Ogoniland. The oil poured into the swamp and creek for weeks, covering the area in a thick slick of oil and killing the fish that people depend on for food and for their livelihood. © CEHRD

Amnesty International has been conducting research on human rights abuses linked to the oil industry in the Niger Delta since the mid-1990s.1 Working jointly with the Port Harcourt-based Centre for the Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), this has included investigations into the cause and impact of pollution in Ogale and Bodo, which are two of the communities that have brought cases against Shell.2 Amnesty International has also investigated Shell’s role in the military crackdown of the 1990s, reviewing thousands of pages of court depositions and internal company documents.3 read more

Cover photo: A Dutch court hears the first arguments in an historic case against Shell, in which the oil giant stands accused of instigating a raft of horrifying human rights violations committed by the Nigerian government against the Ogoni people in the 1990s, on February 12, 2019 in The Hague, Netherlands. © Pierre Crom/Getty Images

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.

Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations.

Since Shell first discovered oil near the village of Oloibiri in 1956, the Niger Delta has become Africa’s most valuable oil-producing region and the Anglo-Dutch giant has earned billions of dollars. read more

Spills in Nigeria for Shell increased to 2,000 tonnes in 2019, from 157 incidents, the company has disclosed in its annual report, up from 1,600 tonnes from 111 incidents in 2018.

by Ed Reed: 12/03/2020, 10:50 am

These are predominantly a result of sabotage, the company said. Of the 164 spills of more than 100 kg of crude, 95% were the result of “illegal activities by third parties”. Flaring also increased in 2019 in Nigeria, by around 10%.

The number of spills caused as a result of its own operational issues fell to seven incidents, from 15 in 2018. This saw the volume of crude spilled fall to around 30 tonnes of crude, from 400 tonnes in 2018. Where there have been operational spills, SPDC pays compensation to people and communities. read more

Delegates to the UNPO Presidents meeting in Washington DC

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, has called for global support for the people of Ogoni in Nigeria to achieve Self Determination and protection from discrimination.

Speaking at the just-concluded meeting of presidents of the UNPO in Washington DC, United States of America, president of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke said the repression and discrimination against the Ogoni people in Nigeria was unacceptable.

Nsuke said it was unfortunate that a simple demand for justice was being repressed by the Nigerian authorities leading to the death of over 4000 persons and continues to endanger the lives of over one million Ogoni people. read more

The spread of deadly chemicals by Shell Petroleum Development Company in the waterways of Odimodi and its federated communities of Iduwini Kingdom (Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State), has triggered massive poisoning of the fish population and other aquatic bodies in its waters. There is fear that the chemicals will have great and far-reaching implications on human health and environmental issues.

Malabu Scandal: Italian judge orders prosecution of Nigerian businessman

February 24, 2020: Halimah Yahaya

An Italian judge has ordered a controversial businessman, Aliyu Abubakar, to stand trial, for his role in the Malabu OPL 245 scandal.

Reuters reported Wednesday that the Milan prosecutors alleged that Mr Abubakar played a major role in one of the oil industry’s biggest scandal in years.

The controversial businessman, through his companies, received over half of the $1.1 billion paid by Shell and Eni for OPL 245. He also allegedly gave out more than $500 million in cash to powerful Nigerian government officials. read more

MILAN, Feb 19 (Reuters) – An Italian judge has ordered a Nigerian businessman to stand trial for alleged international corruption relating to a Nigeria oil graft case involving Eni and Shell, a judicial source and his lawyer said on Wednesday. Milan prosecutors allege that Alhai Aliyu Abubakar played a central role in one of the oil industry’s biggest scandals in years, handing out more than $500 million in cash to powerful Nigerian government officials.

The money is alleged to come out of the $1.3 billion licence fee paid by Eni and Shell for access to the OPL-245 offshore oilfield located in the southern Niger Delta. read more

Global Investigations Review

Dutch bar unfazed by justice minister’s “unusual” contact with Shell prosecutors

By James Thomas: 18 February 2020

Dutch lawyers seem relaxed about recent revelations that the local justice minister and public prosecutors have been in frequent contact about a bribery investigation into Shell.

FULL ARTICLE (PAYWALL)

Lawyers question judge’s peculiar ruling in Shell privilege case

By James Thomas: 30 October 2019

Legal experts in the Netherlands have said that a recent privilege ruling against Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell will likely not stand up in an appeals court.

FULL ARTICLE (PAYWALL)

Shell’s in-house lawyers not covered by privilege, court rules

By James Thomas: 25 October 2019

A Rotterdam court has ruled that Shell’s in-house lawyers are insufficiently independent from the company and cannot claim legal privilege, in a decision connected to a Dutch investigation into alleged bribery by Shell in Nigeria. read more

FEBRUARY 17, 2020 / 9:28 PM

YENAGOA, Nigeria, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s state oil company and its joint venture partners have spent $360 million on cleaning up the Niger Delta oil heartland in the past two years, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said on Monday, but locals said little work had been done.

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest crude oil exporter. Oil sales account for around 90% of its foreign currency earnings but oil spills in the southern Niger Delta region have caused pollution and angered locals. read more

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) says the failed Ogoni cleanup exercise under the management of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has received a total of US$350,000,000 (Three Hundred and Fifty Million U.S. Dollars) since 2017 without anything to show for it.

Lamenting the corruption and looting going on in HYPREP yesterday (February 14, 2020) during a briefing in his office in Bori, headquarter of Khana local government area,  President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke said it was unfortunate that an overwhelming $350million, an estimated NGN128,000,000,000 (One hundred and twenty eight billion Naira) meant for the cleanup has been largely misappropriated due to the massive corruption in HYPREP. read more