Jurist Amnesty report reveals Shell documents confirm complicity in Nigerian oil spills

[Dadparvar]

Amnesty International on Wednesday called on Shell plc to answer for decades of pollution in the Niger Delta following their report detailing how Shell oil pollution has damaged water, farmland, fisheries, health and livelihoods, while the company continued to profit and deny responsibility.

The report, titled Nigeria: Lifting the Lid: Internal documents expose Shell’s negligent oil operations, examines internal Shell documents which confirm the long standing complaints of residents of the Niger delta. Amnesty reports that the documents confirm concerns raised by the Nigerian army over alleged complicity in oil theft, collusion, and neglectful conduct which has led to oil spills. Amnesty International is the first group to report on these recently disclosed documents following legal proceedings in the UK last summer.

Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria stated that:

Shell has long blamed oil theft and sabotage for pollution in the Niger Delta. But these documents cut through years of denial and raise grave questions about what Shell knew, what it allowed to continue, and whether it then sought to walk away from the costs of its toxic legacy. The scandal was not simply illegal ‘bunkering’ or oil theft. The real scandal is Shell’s pursuit of profit at the expense of people’s rights.

Shell has previously been found responsible for oil spills in the Niger Delta. In 2021, the Dutch Court of Appeal found Shell liable for three oil spills in Goi, Oruma and Ikot Ada Udo, Nigeria following over a decade of litigation. That same year, Shell also announced that it would pay US $111.6 million to settle a decades-long legal dispute over an oil spill that occurred during the Biafran-Nigerian civil war in the 1970s. In September last year, Amnesty International and seven UN Rapporteurs on Human Rights found that Shell’s former subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), was the largest polluter in the Niger Delta.

Shell was approached by Amnesty International with their findings, and Shell defended itself stating: “The characterisation and portrayal of Shell in your letter is not one we recognise. Shell is committed to honesty, integrity and respect for people, and to conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner.”

The UN’s 2022 General Assembly resolution recognized the right to a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment. This right includes substantive elements such as the right to clean air, safe water, healthy food, and non-toxic environments to live and work in.

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