Shell Nigeria employees are causing oil spills themselves to earn money from the clean-ups, says a new Milieudefensie and Friends of the Earth Nigeria report verified by independent journalist at Zembla.
CITYVOICE could not get a response from Shell at press time.
The oil spill clean-ups are organised by Shell in such a way that the oil spills seem to generate income for the local population. Shell Nigeria is aware of all this but is not doing anything about it, says Milieudefensie.
Shell employees are themselves involved in these oil spills in Nigeria. This directly contradicts the picture that Shell itself paints, in which the responsibility for the spills is placed on the rebels. For this research, multiple people have been interviewed extensively. An independent journalist has verified this research later commissioned by Zembla.
Shell employees order the spills
The involved Ikarama residents in the Niger Delta not only confirm that Shell employees hire residents to perpetrate spills, but also claim that everyone in the village has been approached. Many people are sensitive to this issue, because their fields and fishponds are often too polluted by oil to earn a living from. ‘Someone who is hungry,’ a representative from the Ikarama community pointed out, ‘is someone who consents.’
Shell employees, residents and clean-up companies are thus all working together. The employee points out where and when a spill should occur. It is usually young people who perpetrate the spills. Then a Shell employee hires a clean-up company from among the perpetrator’s acquaintances and afterwards, they divide the profits among themselves. At least 30 oil spills have been recorded in the Ikarama area over the past 10 years, according to Friends of the Earth Nigeria ERA.
Shell knows about it
The report describes several key moments that tend to prove that Shell is aware of these practices. Therefore, it should be Shell’s responsibility to protect the pipelines from these spills but also arrange for the clean-ups of the spills.
Friends of the Earth Netherlands Director, Donald Pols: ‘Shell always claims it’s not their responsibility: global warming, earthquakes in Groningen, oil spills in Nigeria. This research shows for the umpteenth time that Shell should look in the mirror more often. The big question now is how many of the countless oil spills were caused by Shell employees and why does Shell management continue to point the finger at others.’
The report’s recommendations highlight how effective the protection of the pipelines by young people has been in the past. Friends of the Earth Netherlands also wants Shell to compensate the local population for the destruction they have endured.
Acting Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Chima Williams said: “These disturbing findings have again confirmed what we have long suspected. Shell must own up to the destruction of the local community and made to pay heavily for these deliberate infractions”.
Judge’s verdict in the case of Milieudefensie against Shell
Milieudefensie and Friends of the Earth Nigeria ERA have been busy for some time, trying to persuade Shell to take responsibility for the world’s largest oil disaster. Milieudefensie sued Shell back in 2008 for the oil pollution in Nigeria, in the first case ever involving a Dutch corporation being held accountable for environmental pollution in a foreign country. After 12 years, the verdict of the appeal will be announced on January 29, 2021 at 11 a.m.