The Niger Delta is one of the most polluted places on earth, laid to waste by an oil industry that does not respect people or the environment. It wasn’t always that way. Before Shell first discovered oil in Nigeria in 1956, it was a globally important wetland habitat with rich biodiversity, providing livelihoods for people for centuries.
A UNEP report has found that the pollution of water bodies in Ogoniland — one area of the Niger Delta — by Shell is widespread. Some drinking water has carcinogens such as benzene up to 900 times above World Health Organization standards. This helps explains why life expectancy in the Niger Delta is only 45 years.
Shell has been polluting the Niger Delta for over 50 years, but we now have an opportunity to steer it in a different direction. Shell got a new CEO, Ben van Beurden, in January. This represents an important opportunity for Shell to take a new path and clean up its legacy of pollution.
Most people in the Niger Delta cannot even remember a time before their homeland was devastated. Experts have said that $1 billion should be spent on an initial 5 year clean-up operation in Ogoniland but, so far, Shell has not paid out a penny. That’s why we’re doing this petiton to show Ben van Beurden how many people want the company to take action.
It’s a good time for Shell to act. Just twelve working days after taking up his post as new CEO of Shell, Ben van Beurden issued a surprise profit warning: “Our 2013 performance was not what I expect from Shell”. Security problems in Nigeria were cited as partly to blame. If van Beurden really wants to turn things around, then Shell needs to re-think its strategy on Nigeria.
Shell has contributed to the violence in the Delta and has set itself at odds from the communities where it extracts oil. It’s time for a return to clean water, peace and justice.
Dissent against Shell’s presence in the Niger Delta has a long history. In 1995, the Ogoni 9 — including the inspirational activist and writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa — were executed by the military government in Nigeria for campaigning against Shell’s destruction of their homeland.
Shell was forced to stop oil extraction in Ogoni in 1993, when Ken Saro-Wiwa mobilised 300,000 people to demand environmental and social justice. Shell’s response was to assist the Nigerian military in razing 27 villages, killing over 2000 people. Now, as we approach the 20th anniversary of the executions, the Ogoni people are rising up again, planning a series of peaceful direct actions targeting the oil industry. In December, there were mass protests culminating in the blockade of an oil refinery in Port Harcourt.
Will you join us to support the Ogoni people by standing in solidarity with them? The first step is to sign this petition telling Ben van Beurden to take responsibility for Shell’s legacy of devastation in the Niger Delta. We will be in touch soon to share the next steps in this campaign and how you can help win justice in the Niger Delta
757 | Matthew Tan | Singapore | Singapore | Jun 03, 2022 |
756 | Marga Gili | Palma | España | Nov 24, 2021 |
755 | Katherine Sampson | Devon | United Kingdom | Nov 24, 2021 |
754 | Nelly PRESTAT | CHAUFFRY | France | Nov 24, 2021 |
753 | Consuelo Serena Velasco | Strambino | Italia | Nov 24, 2021 |
752 | Tina Behla | Berlin | Deutschland | Nov 24, 2021 |
751 | Laura Weaver | Johnson city | Usa | Sep 19, 2021 |
750 | Laura Adery | Venice | United States | Jul 25, 2021 |
749 | Dipo Oyewole | London | United Kingdom | Jul 01, 2021 |
748 | Samira SamiraHamour | Canterbury | United Kingdom | Jun 30, 2021 |
747 | Thomas Williams | Stockton | United States | Mar 31, 2018 |
746 | Sordum Deeyaa | Denver | United States | Dec 11, 2017 |
745 | Marina Blake | London | U.K. | Nov 28, 2017 |
744 | Andrea Mauro | Huntington Station | United States | Oct 18, 2017 |
743 | Patricia Murfay | Palos hills | United States | Sep 11, 2017 |
742 | Marleen Van Dessel | Borgerhout | Belgium | Sep 07, 2017 |
741 | Loren Dekeyser | Ostend | Belgium | Sep 06, 2017 |
740 | Angélique Girolami | Ghent | Belgium | Sep 06, 2017 |
739 | Felix Baadom | Mogho | Nigeria | Jun 24, 2017 |
738 | Ragnhild Torvaldsdottir | Mar 21, 2017 | ||
737 | Olga P | ASHBURN | United States | Dec 12, 2016 |
736 | isabella wray | Birmingham | United Kingdom | Nov 30, 2016 |
735 | Chloe Cassabois | Paris | France | Oct 30, 2016 |
734 | Edgar Chao | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Aug 24, 2016 |
733 | Kim Goodwin | Victoria | Canada | Aug 07, 2016 |
732 | Megan Baguley | Northampton | England | Jul 29, 2016 |
731 | Maggie Reynolds | Princes Risborough | United Kingdom | Jun 25, 2016 |
730 | John Michael | London | United Kingdom | Jun 07, 2016 |
729 | Simi Adelekan | camberwell | United Kingdom | Jun 07, 2016 |
728 | Ilona Randall | United Kingdom | Jun 07, 2016 | |
727 | Annika Dongre | PUNE | India | May 16, 2016 |
726 | louise tickner | Kingston Upon Thames | United Kingdom | Mar 05, 2016 |
725 | Jahmella Smith | Birmingham | United Kingdom | Mar 03, 2016 |
724 | Richa Khenmah | Port Louis | Mauritius | Feb 22, 2016 |
723 | Charlotte Deacon | Kingston | Canada | Dec 28, 2015 |
722 | Lauren Niedel | Chepachet | United States | Dec 14, 2015 |
721 | Marisa Jordan | University Park, PA | USA | Dec 08, 2015 |
720 | Simone Roy | State College | United States | Dec 08, 2015 |
719 | Sarah Fara | London | United Kingdom | Nov 26, 2015 |
718 | will robinson | Nov 10, 2015 | ||
717 | John Mark Robertson | Belleville | Canada | Nov 07, 2015 |
716 | Joan Hall | London | United Kingdom | Nov 07, 2015 |
715 | Daniel Toate Donu | Port Harcourt | Nigeria | Oct 20, 2015 |
714 | Cassandra Carr | Cardinal | Canada | Sep 24, 2015 |
713 | Martin Štych | Frýdek-Místek | Czech Republic | Aug 18, 2015 |
712 | Lisa Hardless | Bristol | United Kingdom | Jul 20, 2015 |
711 | Cathy Carr | London | United Kingdom | Jul 12, 2015 |
710 | Lee Murphy | London | England | Jul 12, 2015 |
709 | David Perk | Seattle | USA | May 31, 2015 |
708 | Emily Johnston | Seattle | US | May 30, 2015 |
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