The air in Ogoniland is thick with despair. The rivers, once teeming with fish, now carry the stench of crude oil. The farmlands, once lush and fertile, lie barren, poisoned beyond redemption. The wells, once sources of life, now serve only death. This is the horrific reality of the Ogoni people, and other Niger Delta communities, condemned to suffering by the relentless greed of a corporate giant – Shell.
President Bola Tinubu’s interest in reopening oil exploitation in Ogoniland, is now an open secret that is informed by strategic and economic considerations, not the least of which is revenue generation. Nigeria’s economy heavily relies on oil exports, and reviving production in Ogoniland is projected to boost Nigeria’s oil production by approximately 100,000 barrels per day and bolster national revenue.
This increase would contribute significantly to Nigeria’s economy, potentially adding $5 billion annually to GDP. As of November 2024, Nigeria’s crude oil production reached 1.8 million barrels per day. Therefore, the additional output from Ogoniland would represent an increase of 6% in the nation’s total oil production. Historically, Ogoniland has been a significant oil-producing region. In May 1993, the Ogoni oil fields were producing 130,000 barrels of crude oil daily. Resuming operations in this area is expected to restore a substantial portion of this output. However, restarting oil production necessitates addressing longstanding grievances of local communities. In 2024, President Tinubu appointed Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, a renowned environmental scientist, as Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), emphasizing the administration’s dedication to cleaning up polluted sites and restoring ecosystems.
A Kingdom Poisoned
In a desperate bid to make the world see the agony of his people, His Royal Highness King Godwin Bebe Okpabi of Ogale Kingdom recently stood before the High Court in London, holding up bottles of water drawn from his homeland’s wells. Dark, thick, and reeking of chemicals, this was the only drinking water left for his people – water laced with benzene at levels more than 900 times above the World Health Organization’s safe limit. Water that spells a slow, agonizing death for those who drink it. “This is the water that Shell has left for my people,” the king declared, his voice heavy with grief. “This is poison.”
Yet, as the Ogoni people choke on their poisoned land, Shell sits in their corporate towers, their army of lawyers deploying every legal loophole to escape accountability. “Oil is being stolen on an industrial scale,” they argue. “This is not our doing.” But tell that to the children born with deformities. Tell that to the women battling breast cancer at an age when they should be nurturing families. Tell that to the fishermen who return home empty-handed, their nets tainted with nothing but sludge and despair.
A Graveyard of Hope
The Niger Delta was once a paradise, its mangroves sheltering abundant marine life, its soil yielding bountiful harvests. But when Shell arrived, so did devastation. The UN Environment Program’s investigation laid bare the horror: mangrove roots suffocated in bitumen, groundwater choked with toxins, streams blanketed in thick layers of crude oil. The region had been transformed into a wasteland, a graveyard where livelihoods, traditions, and even life itself had been buried under the weight of unbridled exploitation. “People’s way of life has been destroyed,” Okpabi lamented. “People’s only drinking water has been poisoned. Farmland? Completely poisoned. Streams? Destroyed. A people have been completely destroyed.”
Generations of Ogoni families who lived in harmony with their land now face a bleak future. Farmers till the soil in vain. Fishermen cast their nets into empty, toxic waters. Mothers cradle sick children, their frail bodies ravaged by unknown diseases. And all the while, Shell pleads innocence.
Shell’s Denial and Delay Tactics
Shell has refused to carry out the UNEP’s recommendations for cleaning up oil spills in the Niger Delta for several reasons, primarily revolving around cost, denial of responsibility, and the complexity of the cleanup process. Here are the key reasons: First, implementing UNEP’s recommendations would require Shell to commit billions of dollars over several decades. The cleanup process is expensive, and Shell has prioritized profit over environmental and human concerns. Secondly, Shell has repeatedly claimed that most oil spills in the region result from theft and sabotage rather than their own operations. By shifting blame to illegal refining and pipeline vandalism, the company avoids taking full responsibility.
Besides, Shell has used legal tactics to challenge liability, arguing in courts, especially in the UK, that responsibility lies with its Nigerian subsidiary (SPDC) rather than the parent company. This strategy has significantly delayed accountability and action. In addition, the Nigerian government, which benefits from Shell’s oil operations, has failed to enforce stringent cleanup measures. Corruption and lack of political will have allowed Shell to evade pressure. Furthermore, the pollution in the Niger Delta is so severe that a proper cleanup would take decades. The UNEP report estimated a 30-year remediation effort, requiring significant logistical and technical resources. Finally, while there have been lawsuits and advocacy efforts, global institutions and foreign governments have not exerted enough pressure to force Shell into compliance. Without strong external enforcement, Shell has been able to stall.
Shell and Accountability
That notwithstanding, Shell has been held liable in several domestic and international cases for its activities in Nigeria, resulting in financial damages and settlements. In 2013, the US Supreme Court dismissed a case [Kiobel v. Shell Case] brought under the Alien Tort Statute, in which the Ogoni people accused Shell of complicity in human rights abuses, including the execution of activists like Ken Saro-Wiwa in the 1990s. However, Shell later settled out of court in a related case in 2009, agreeing to pay $15.5 million to the victims’ families. In 2015, after years of litigation, Shell agreed to a $83.5 million settlement with the Bodo community in the Niger Delta. The settlement was in response to two massive oil spills in 2008 and 2009, which destroyed fishing waters and farmlands.
In January 2021, the Court of Appeal in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled that Shell was responsible for oil spills in two Nigerian villages, Goi and Oruma. The court ordered Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary (SPDC) to compensate farmers whose lands and livelihoods were destroyed. Shell was also instructed to install a leak detection system on one of its pipelines to prevent future spills. In February 2024, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Shell could be sued in England for pollution damage in the Niger Delta, allowing Ogoni and Bille communities to pursue compensation. Legal battles are ongoing, but it sets a precedent for corporate accountability.
While Shell has paid damages in some cases, the company continues to resist full accountability, often arguing that sabotage and theft, not negligence are the main causes of spills. However, these rulings and settlements show that legal pressure can force Shell to compensate affected communities. Ultimately, Shell’s refusal to act is a calculated move to avoid financial loss, legal accountability, and long-term commitments. Meanwhile, the Ogoni people continue to suffer from poisoned water, barren land, and devastating health crises.
A Corporate Goliath vs. A Dying People
For decades, Shell has profited immensely from the Niger Delta, extracting billions of dollars’ worth of oil while leaving behind nothing but misery. When faced with the undeniable evidence of their destruction, their response is not remorse but resistance. In courtrooms, they wield their wealth like a weapon, prolonging legal battles while, back home, the Ogoni people perish. “I’m not a lawyer,” Okpabi admitted, his voice burdened with the pain of his people. “But as I sit in court and listen to Shell trying to find ways to wheedle their way out, it’s very painful. And while this legal battle drags on, people are dying at home.” This is the cruelest tragedy: a people left to die while the perpetrators of their suffering hide behind legal jargon and bureaucratic shields. Shell’s defense is not justice – it is a calculated, cold-blooded escape from accountability.
Will the World Listen?
The case against Shell is not just about pollution; it is about justice, about the right of a people to live free from corporate-sponsored genocide. This is not a natural disaster – it is man-made, an atrocity driven by greed. And while the courtroom debates continue, Ogoniland withers, its people gasping for breath in a land that once nourished them. How much longer will the world watch in silence? How many more children must be born with deformities? How many more families must bury their loved ones? How many more lives must be lost before Shell is forced to take responsibility?
The Ogoni people are fighting, but their voices are drowning in the oil-soaked silence of corporate apathy. It is time for Nigeria and the world to stand with them. To demand justice. To demand restoration. To demand that Shell cleans up the land it has destroyed. Because a slow, painful genocide is unfolding before our eyes. And history will not be kind to those who looked away.
