The Centre for Environmental, Human Rights and Development, CEHRD, civil society organizations, CSOs, community stakeholders, and the media, have unanimously and vehemently opposed the decision of Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, to divest from onshore operations to offshore in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
In a research finding unveiling titled, ‘Recovery: Supporting Remedy for Onshore Oil Impacted Communities In The Niger Delta’ held in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, and powered by CEHRD, the people said “NO” to such a negative decision, insisting, that if Shell must divest, it should first address the issue of environmental degradation caused by its failed equipment and neglect of standard international best practice.
They stated that it was wrong for Shell to sell off its assets leaving behind its liabilities, and without recourse to its host communities.
Giving an overview of the key findings from the research and the implications, Dr. Tammy Cookey, CEHERD’s head of Environment said that based on the evidence they have, there is strong room for litigation against the oil major.
“We are so sure that with this evidence we have now in the form of a report, definitely there will be litigation against Shell.
“Shell cannot leave without taking care of the legacy sites they have left behind”, he insisted.
He said that CEHRD has four major findings in the course of the report, focusing on community engagements, community inclusion, legal issues, and legacy pollution sites, stressing that the researchers were able to gather pieces of evidence, including pictures of the legacy pollution sites.
According to Dr. Tammy Cookey, in the Enebele community, the team collected a piece of evidence on the spills that Shell caused, pointing out that their findings on community engagements indicated that Shell has ignored the importance of community stakeholders in terms of communication and other vital things.
He noted that the research also revealed that probably Shell pays to promote conflicts, as the company did not carry the whole stakeholders along; rather they only select some persons thereby breeding conflicts within host communities.
“So, you can see that Shell does not carry everybody along. Also, we have seen based on our facts-finding mission that there are legacy sites that Shell has not remediated.
“If Shell wants to leave, definitely they should address the legacy sites they have left behind”, he maintained.
Dr Cookey further stated that in all the communities they visited to engage stakeholders, the majority of them acknowledged the fact that they were not carried along, a gap they must look into.
“We must ensure that before Shell will leave, before Shell sells their assets to whatever, they must ensure that stakeholders are being carried along”, he stressed.
Speaking on the framework, which he described as most important, Cookey stated: “We saw there is a shortage; there is a gap, even the blueprint, there is a lacuna we discovered.”
He acknowledged the fact that various organizations have worked on divestment, and came together to prepare a document called “National Principles of Responsible Industry Divestment,” adopted by civil societies in Nigeria.
He said the CEHRD recommendations are based on the National Principles and described the report as a very beautiful one.
“I am so confident that at the end, something will be done”, Dr. Cookey concluded.
In his postulations on the views of different stakeholders on the issue of divestment, Dr. Victor Zabbey asked stakeholders to speak up against Shell’s divestment.
“We have been to your communities and interfaced with you. Shell is leaving onshore to offshore without carrying the communities along, they are leaving behind liabilities”, he said and urged them to make their views known.
Environmental/Rights activist, and managing editor of National Point Newspaper, Chief Constance Meju, who also chairs the Board of Trustees of CEHRD noted that the issue of divestment is very important, stressing the need for the government to heed the calls of stakeholders for remediation and settlement of outstanding issues in host communities before Shell is allowed to move out.
She drew attention to the inclusion of women in the program meant to serve them..
“I have gone round the communities over this issue, and I discovered that women are most affected by oil and gas activities, They have lost their livelihood”, Chief Meju lamented, adding that Shell cannot leave without addressing its liabilities in the region.
Representative of SOMO, the international body that funded the research, Mr. Joseph Wilde, who joined virtually, acknowledged the need to incorporate women in future actions as he pledged continued support for CEHRD in the pursuit of environmental justice for oil-impacted communities from Shell and other operators.
“You are not alone. Global partners are speaking with one voice. We are with you”, he stated. Joseph commended ‘CEHRD’s amazing researchers’ as he stressed that Shell must be made to pay for the damages done to the Niger Delta in its many years of operation there.
CEHRD coordinator, Dr Francis Nabie earlier in an opening remark, said the report would give voice to the countless unheard voices in the region, who are victims of Shell-inflicted environmental degradation.
The reality of the very essence of Shell’s attempt to pull out from onshore activities will not be understood without reports like the CEHRD findings. He described the divestment pursuit as a criminal flight by Shell to run away from cleaning up its mess in the Niger Delta.
Dr Nabie said the report is not just about the degraded environment but also highlighting the health and livelihood implications therein and urged stakeholders including the community members, to reflect and identify any gaps to ensure a foolproof mechanism for getting desired justice.
“This report seeks to bring about the mental emancipation to a countless number of Niger Delta members who are victims of Shell’s environmental degradation,” he concluded.
At the end of deliberations on the findings, community leaders expressed appreciation to CEHRD for raising a tool to help them fight for environmental justice while also pledging support to CEHRD’s mission.
