Amnesty International and its partners on Wednesday called for Shell Plc to answer for pollution in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
“Shell must answer for decades of pollution in the Niger Delta after internal company documents revealed broken rules, failing infrastructure and unresolved clean-up costs that risk leaving affected communities to pay the price,” said a statement announcing the release of a new report on the environmental impacts and human rights issues of Shell operations in the Niger Delta.
The report, titled ‘Nigeria: Lifting the Lid,’ was released by a group of eight human rights and environmental organisations. These are Amnesty International, The Corner House, Hawkmoth, HEDA Resource Centre, Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre, Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative (MEDI), ReCommon, and Social Action.
The report looked at confidential Shell emails, technical audits, presentations and internal reviews shared during ongoing legal proceedings in the UK.
It claimed that Shell was aware of serious problems with its pipelines and oil wells, let its Nigerian subsidiary skip some internal safety rules, and delayed shutting down old facilities even after recognizing the environmental dangers.
The statement about the report’s release said 27 redacted documents released in April 2026 became public due to a lawsuit the Ogale and Bille communities filed in the UK in 2015 against Shell Plc and its Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC, over serious oil pollution. The Bille case is set to be heard in March 2027.
According to the partners, these documents showed Shell’s failure to keep up with well and pipeline maintenance, leading to oil pollution in the Niger Delta. They said the pollution violated human rights in communities, affecting water, farmland, fisheries, health, and livelihoods.
The issues included broken pipelines, missing wells, and 375 square kilometers of mangrove forest damaged by pollution.
To make matters worse, the company “decided to divest its onshore business rather than face the enormous cost of clean-up and decommissioning, including an internal US$10.9 billion decommissioning estimate,” stated the environmental and human rights groups.
Isaac Osuoka, Director at Social Action, was quoted saying, “Shell’s divestment cannot become a corporate escape route. After decades of profiting from Niger Delta oil, Shell must not transfer the risks of ageing infrastructure and legacy pollution to communities or to a buyer whose capacity remains in serious doubt. It must pay its fair share whether or not it has the ‘appetite’ for accountability.”
Olanrewaju Suraju, chairman of the HEDA Resource Centre, one of the partners behind the report, said, “Shell cannot be allowed to take the oil, take the profits and leave the pollution behind. Communities in the Niger Delta deserve truth, justice, clean-up and full remedy.”
The ongoing litigation in the UK has caught the attention of people worldwide, showing that Shell’s leadership was aware of the dangers from unkept pipelines.
In June, findings obtained by the BBC through the ongoing legal case in the UK, including emails, technical assessments and internal presentations, revealed that Shell executives repeatedly expressed concerns about the safety and state of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL), a key pipeline used to transport crude oil from inland oilfields to export facilities.
Amnesty International mentioned writing to Shell on 3 July and getting a response from the company, which denied any wrongdoing.
“The characterisation and portrayal of Shell in your letter is not one we recognise,” excerpts of Shell’s reply, as shared by Amnesty International, read. “Shell is committed to honesty, integrity and respect for people, and to conducting business ethically and transparently.”
But Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International, pointed out that for many years, Shell blamed oil pollution on oil theft and sabotage to avoid taking responsibility.
Mr Sanusi said, “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 was willing to accept further environmental damage in Nigeria that would not have been tolerated elsewhere, and years of public denial are now challenged by its own documents.”
Simon Taylor, co-founder of Hawkmoth, a Netherlands-based group, said, “Communities should never have been forced to live with pollution because a company did not want to pay to clean up its own mess.”
The partners are urging the Nigerian government to take strong action by reforming oil sector regulations, demanding clear audits for both current and retired assets, and establishing a well-funded restoration fund for the Niger Delta.
Mr Sanusi said, “Shell is one of the world’s largest investor-owned fossil fuel companies. Its documents are now in the open. The question is whether governments will act on them. In addition to living with unacceptable oil pollution, Nigerians are experiencing extreme heat, deadly flooding and other severe weather events linked to the global heating caused by the use of Shell’s primary product: fossil fuels.
“Nigeria must improve oversight of the oil industry, while UK and Dutch authorities must investigate whether Shell misled shareholders, regulators and affected communities about the true state of its operations and liabilities.”
Communities in the Niger Delta are still dealing with environmental pollution caused by oil spills.
For example, a visit by PREMIUM TIMES to the Bille community showed residents facing new environmental problems, including reports of underground emissions of toxic gases in homes and nearby waterways.
This has resulted in the loss of mangroves and aquatic species like crabs, fish, and periwinkles.
While Shell has operated in Nigeria for years and brought in revenue for the country, the company has faced backlash over environmental pollution.
Calls for oil companies to take responsibility keep growing amid ongoing severe environmental pollution.
Though the company has left Nigeria, the damage from its long-term operations in Nigeria continues to attract criticism and demands for accountability.
Drop your comment
No comments yet — be the first to drop the gist 👇