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“Nowhere and no-one has escaped” – message from Bodo, Nigeria
This video, made by Amnesty International, shows the horrifying extent of the pollution in Bodo village, where two oil spills from a burst Shell pipeline devastated the land and water which 70,000 local villagers depend on for their survival.
10 Aug 2011 admin -
Is Syrian propaganda tool and oil company Gulfsands dodging EU sanctions?
Propaganda tool? London-based Gulfsands Petroleum is operating as a propaganda tool for the Assad regime. In an interview from last Wednesday, the company’s communications director Ken Judge made statements that claimed Islamic extremists had infiltrated protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s 11-year rule. Yet the Syrian uprising is evidently supported by a broad swathe of the…
9 Aug 2011 admin -
The Other Gulf
Here is an apt quote from Nnimmo Bassey in The Observer. Last year, as the Macoondo Well gushed thousands of barrels of oil into the belly of the Gulf of Mexico, Nnimmo drew our attention to the Niger Delta’s daily woes: We see frantic efforts being made to stop the spill in the US. But in Nigeria companies largely ignore…
8 Aug 2011 admin -
When will Shell stop these daily oil spills?
Bodo resident, journalist and human rights monitor, Patrick Naagbanton, signed off his Comment piece in The Guardian by saying: We won’t be holding our breath. In an environment which suffers from daily oil spills, locals have learned that the multinationals, in particular Shell, and government authorities, will get away with almost anything. Earlier today I spoke on…
6 Aug 2011 admin -
The struggle for justice in Ogoni
Here is a heartfelt comment piece in The Guardian on the local reaction in Ogoni to Shell’s oil spill payout. Shell has admitted liability but has a long way to go to make amends Oil spills destroyed my village in Nigeria and decades of environmental and social injustice are still to be addressed. By Patrick…
4 Aug 2011 admin -
Shell covered up pollution in Ogoni, UNEP report finds
The Guardian reported today on a leaked copy of the now officially released UNEP study into oil spills in Ogoniland. The report confirms the horrendous extent of environmental devastation caused by decades of Shell oil spills in the region. Key findings include: Most of the oil spill sites that the companies claim to have cleaned…
4 Aug 2011 admin -
Breaking: NGO Coalition React to Bodo spills and UNEP report
A global coalition of environmental and human rights groups responds to the UNEP report on the ecological impact of oil spills in Ogoniland. The groups stressed that a new mechanism of providing remedies to the victims of spills is urgently needed to hold oil companies like Shell accountable. The coalition called on the Nigerian government…
4 Aug 2011 admin -
Breaking: Delta Activists Respond to UNEP Report
Below is a press release from ERA/FoE Nigeria, in response to UNEP’s publication – in the last half hour – of its report on the ecological impact of oil spills in Ogoni. Local activists argue that UNEP’s recommendation for a $1 billion fund for restoration in Ogoni is a token. 4 August 2011 UNEP Report:…
4 Aug 2011 admin -
Shell has admitted liability but has a long way to go to make amends
This article first appeared in The Guardian, Comment is Free on 4 August 2011. by Patrick Naagbanton, as told to Ben Amunwa Oil spills destroyed my village in Nigeria and decades of environmental and social injustice are still to be addressed Shell’s admission of liability for two massive oil spills in 2008-09 in my village of…
