Shell’s oil pollution in the Niger Delta still to be cleaned

Ten years after the United Nations called for a large scale clean up of the Niger Delta polluted by Shell and other oil giants, only 11 percent of target sites have been approached.

A new study authored by four NGOs has found that little or no clean-up efforts have begun, with only an additional five percent of sites under current work. No site has yet been declared fully decontaminated.

The findings are to be presented in the UK Supreme Court on 23rd June via video link and will be live-streamed. The complaints of over 40,000 people from the Niger Delta’s Ogale and Bille communities will be heard in court as to how Shell’s activity and oil spills have damaged their livelihoods.

Amnesty International Nigeria has been at the forefront of the investigation into oil companies’ negative effect on the area.

Osai Ojigho, Amnesty International Nigeria has said, "The discovery of oil in Ogoniland has brought huge suffering for its people.

“Over many years, we have documented how Shell has failed to clean up contamination from spills and it's a scandal that this has not yet happened.

“The pollution is leading to serious human rights impacts - on people's health and ability to access food and clean water. Shell must not get away with this - we will continue to fight until every last trace of oil is removed from Ogoniland."

The report titled ‘No Clean-up, No Justice’ has also found that there has been no public accounting for the $31 million in funding provided for the clean-up.

Amnesty International has implored the government of Nigeria to make this a national priority, and for European nations to treat this crisis as a Human Rights and Environmental Protection matter.

Photo: Greenpeace