Amnesty International, partners demand Shell’s accountability for environmental pollution in Niger Delta

Amnesty International and its partners on Wednesday demanded that Shell Plc answer for pollution in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.

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“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,” read a statement announcing on Wednesday the release of a new report on the environmental impacts and human rights implications of Shell operations in the Niger Delta.

Titled ‘Nigeria: Lifting the Lid,’ the report was jointly released by a coalition of eight human rights and environmental organisations. They 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 analysed confidential Shell emails, technical audits, presentations and internal reviews disclosed during ongoing legal proceedings in the UK.

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It alleged that Shell knew of serious integrity failures in its pipelines and oil wells, exempted its Nigerian subsidiary from some internal safety standards, and delayed decommissioning ageing facilities despite acknowledging the environmental risks.

The statement announcing the release of the new report on Wednesday said 27 redacted documents released in April 2026 became public following a suit that 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 due to be heard in March 2027.

These documents, according to the partners, exposed Shell’s failure to maintain wells and pipelines, which led to oil pollution in the Niger-Delta. They said the pollution constituted human rights violations in communities, such as damaged water, farmland, fisheries, health and livelihoods.

According to them, the failures include basket pipelines, missing wells, and 375 km² of mangrove forest harmed by pollution.

To cap it all, 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,” the environmental and human rights groups stated.

The statement quoted Isaac Osuoka, Director at Social Action, as 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 new report, stated, “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 UK litigation has received attention from different parts of the world, revealing that Shell’s leadership was no stranger to the hazards from unmaintained pipelines.

In June, findings obtained by the BBC through the ongoing litigation in the United Kingdom, including emails, technical assessments and internal presentations, showed that Shell executives repeatedly expressed concerns about the safety and condition of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL), a key pipeline transporting crude oil from inland oilfields to export facilities.

Shell insisted on its innocence

Amnesty International recalled writing to Shell on 3 July and receiving a response from the company, which denied wrongdoing.

“The characterisation and portrayal of Shell in your letter is not one we recognise,” excerpts of the Shell’s reply reproduced by Amnesty International read. “Shell is committed to honesty, integrity and respect for people, and to conducting business ethically and transparently.”

However, the Director of Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi, noted that for a long time, Shell blamed oil pollution on oil theft and sabotage to absolve itself of 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.”

Also, Simon Taylor, co-founder of Hawkmoth, a Netherlands-based organisation, 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.”

Call to authorities

The partners called on the Nigerian government to take decisive action by overhauling oil sector regulation, demanding transparent audits for both operational and retired assets, and creating a properly resourced 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 extreme weather events linked to the global heating caused by the use of Shell’s primary product: fossil fuels.

“Nigeria must overhaul 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.”

Oil pollution in Niger Delta

Communities in the Niger Delta continue to suffer environmental pollution due to oil spillage.

For instance, a visit by PREMIUM TIMES to the Bille community showed residents grappling with new environmental concerns, including reports of subterranean emissions of toxic gases within residential areas and surrounding waterways.

READ ALSO: Shell documents reveal ‘basket’ pipeline, missing wells, $10.9 billion clean-up liability in Niger Delta – Report

This has led to the disappearance of mangroves and aquatic species such as crabs, fish and periwinkles.

While Shell’s operation in Nigeria has spanned over and generated revenues for the country, the company has attracted criticism over environmental pollution.

Demands for oil companies to take responsibility continue to grow amid ongoing, severe environmental pollution.

Although, the company has left Nigeria, but the trail of devastations attributed to its decades of operations in Nigeria has continued to draw criticisms and demands for accountability.