“The poorest are the most poisoned” – inside the fight for justice against Shell
By: Anita Bhadani
Date: 3 November 2024
Campaigns: Climate
Shell’s destructive legacy has left the Niger Delta one of the most polluted places on Earth. Today, affected communities continue to fight back for justice and compensation, writes ANITA BHADANI.
Josephine Obari is a councillor in the Rivers State Government. Hailing from Eleme River State, she is a proud member of the Ogale community of which she is a voice. She tells me she has been involved in the fight to hold Shell accountable for a near decade.
“We have been unable to sue Shell in the local courts in Nigeria. We saw they were trying to thwart all of our efforts, so we decided to take the case to the UK. The lives of people in my community are in danger, and we are crying for Shell to compensate us.”
The Niger Delta is a hugely densely populated region – home to over 30 million people, a quarter of Nigeria’s population. It is also one of the most polluted places on Earth. Shell’s operations in the region date back to 1958 – and since then, there have been thousands of oil spills in what a commission of appointed experts have termed an “ecocide”.
Shell itself has publicly reported over 1,000 oil leaks since 2011 alone, amounting to 17.5 million litres of oil spilled. Owing to corporations’ tendency to underestimate oil spill volumes and the resulting damage, the actual figure is likely much higher.
The impacts on the lives of the Ogale community, who rely on the water for farming, drinking, washing and fishing, are stark. “My people are suffering. They are dying every day. The people among the poorest are the most poisoned”, Obari says.
“When it rains, the poisonous chemicals in the atmosphere return to further pollute the soil and rivers, reducing farm fertility and killing fishes. We used to have clean water. We used to have vegetables. We used to have plenty to eat but Shell has deprived us of our rights.”
Profit and loss
Oil pollution across the region has led to the impoverishment of local communities and the reckless destruction of their ways of life. Meanwhile, the first six months of 2024 alone saw Shell rake in nearly L11 billion in profit.
The UK law firm Leigh Day is bringing claims on behalf of both the Ogale and Bille communities – the latter of whom have faced similar devastation as a result of Shell’s oil spillages. In a legal briefing, the law firm states that the communities “seek simply to ensure that the oil pollution which has devastated their communities is cleaned up to international standards” and that “compensation is provided for their loss of livelihoods and the destruction of their way of life”.
Crucially, this case is a chance for the voices of the Ogale and Bille communities to finally be heard. “For so many years, we have asked Shell to come and look into our problem, our matter”, Obari explains. “They don’t want to hear us. We lost so many as a result of this Shell oil pollution. And until now, Shell has refused to accept that it is their pollution that is causing death in our community.”
Shell has historically deflected from accountability for the vast majority of the pollution, pointing to “crude oil theft, illegal refining and sabotage” as driving causes. However, experts have highlighted that its allegations of sabotage have not been verified by any independent bodies.
It also previously attempted to dispute that it holds legal responsibility for the oil spills, arguing that it is just a parent company with no legal duty to the affected communities in Nigeria and distancing itself from the actions of its Nigerian subsidiary. This year it has even gone as far as attempting to sell its onshore Nigerian oil operations entirely. The sale is currently being challenged by local Nigerian communities in a separate legal case.
However, in a landmark judgement in 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that there was “a good arguable case” that Royal Dutch Shell – the UK-based parent company – is liable for the environmental harm caused by its Nigerian subsidiary, setting an important precedent on the potential liabilities of parent companies for the actions of their subsidiaries.
For Obari and others in her community, it is crystal clear where the responsibility lies. “We are suffering every day because of Shell. We are dying every day because of Shell. If you are living here, you are risking your life.” “But where do we go? We don’t have another Ogale. This is the only Ogale we have.”
This article is from the November 2024 issue of Ninety-Nine, the magazine for Global Justice Now members.
Join as a member today to receive it three times a year in the post.
Photo: Seun Sanni/Reuters
