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New research reveals Shell paid militants who destroyed Nigerian
towns
Newsdiaryonline Tue Oct 4,2011
Shell fuelled human rights abuses in Nigeria by paying huge
contracts to armed militants, according to a
new report published today by Platform and a
coalition of NGOs and featured in The
Guardian. [1]
Counting the Cost implicates Shell in cases
of serious violence in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region
from 2000 to 2010.[2] The report uncovers how Shell’s routine
payments to armed militants exacerbated conflicts, in one case
leading to the destruction of Rumuekpe town where it is
estimated that at least 60 people were killed.[3]
According to Platform’s report, Shell continues to rely on
Nigerian government forces who have perpetrated systematic human
rights abuses against local residents, including unlawful
killings, torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.
The report is available to download
here.
Key findings include:
-
Platform has heard testimony and seen contracts
that implicate Shell in regularly assisting
armed militants with lucrative payments. In one
case in 2010, Shell is alleged to have
transferred over $159,000 to a group credibly
linked to militia violence. [4]
-
Shell admits that from 2006 onwards, the company
paid thousands of dollars every month to armed
militants in the town of Rumuekpe, in the full
knowledge that the money was used to sustain
three years of conflict. [5]
-
A company manager exposes structural problems
with Shell’s ‘community development’ programme,
claiming that “the money is not going into the
rightful hands,” and that poor community
engagement caused Shell to shut down a third of
its oil production in August 2011 after 12 oil
spills in the Adibawa area. [6]
NGOs from the UK, Netherlands and Nigeria are demanding that
Shell put an end to over five decades of social and
environmental devastation and break its close ties with
government forces and other armed groups responsible for abuses.
Platform’s report also condemns the Nigerian government for
failing to protect the rights of its citizens and urges
President Goodluck Jonathan to find political solutions to the
Delta crisis instead of military responses.
Ben Amunwa from Platform said: “This research sheds new light on
Shell’s active role in human rights abuses during a decade of
terrible violence in the Niger Delta. Shell claims it has
nothing to do with the crisis, but the company is involved in
widespread abuses and militarisation. While Shell cites
‘security issues’ as a convenient excuse for its appalling
environmental record, it has also failed to take the necessary
steps to resolve conflicts. In many cases, Shell’s activities
have created insecurity."
Nnimmo Bassey of Friends of the Earth International said:
“Shell’s obligations are clear: it must clean up after decades
of devastating oil spills, end the illegal practice of gas
flaring and compensate the victims of human rights abuses in
Nigeria. It is unacceptable that Shell continues to deny
responsibility, while pushing communities deeper into poverty
and fuelling destructive conflicts.”
“Shell’s divisive practices have led to daily human rights
violations in the Niger Delta," said Geert Ritsema from Friends
of the Earth Netherlands. "Many of the victims have no access to
justice and cannot afford to take the oil giant to court.
Lawsuits in Nigeria can take decades to resolve and the remedies
are often inadequate. Yet Shell must be held accountable for its
environmental destruction and complicity in human rights abuses
in Nigeria, and home governments like the UK and the Netherlands
must ensure that remedies are available and accessible to the
victims.”
Platform’s report follows months of controversy for Shell, in
which:
• The UN issued a damning report on the ecological impact of oil
spills in Ogoni, many of which are from Shell’s facilities. The
UN Environment Programme found that Shell had operated in
Nigeria below international standards and the company had
certified heavily contaminated sites as “clean”.[7]
• Shell admitted liability for two massive oil spills in the
Ogoni community of Bodo in 2008 to 2009 after a lawsuit filed in
London. The company now faces a compensation payout estimated at
$410 million and could be forced to clean up the damage.
• Court hearings in The Hague where a lawsuit by Friends of
Earth and four Nigerian victims of Shell oil spills is ongoing.
Notes:
[1] Platform is a UK charity that campaigns for social and
ecological justice. The coalition backing the
report includes:
Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD),
Friends of the Earth Netherlands/Milieudefensie, Environmental
Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Social Action,
Spinwatch, Stakeholder Democracy Network and Platform.
[2]
Counting the Cost focuses on eight cases of human
rights abuse in the ‘eastern division’ of Shell’s operations in
Nigeria. Platform believes these cases are part of a wider
pattern of violence that is being fuelled by routine oil company
activities.
[3] Rumuekpe in Rivers State was destroyed by inter-communal
conflict between 2005 to 2008. For details on Shell’s active
role in the conflict, see pages 28 to 36 and Appendix 1 in the
report.
[4] See the case of Joinkrama 4, at pages 36 to 43 in the
report.
[5] See pages 28 to 36 in the report.
[6] See pages 42 to 43 in the
report.
[7] See
UNEP, Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland, (2011):
p12.
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