Amnesty International Nigeria has called on all fossil fuel companies operating in Nigeria, including Shell and Renaissance Africa, to conduct comprehensive audits of their operational infrastructure in the Niger Delta and publicly disclose findings on their environmental impact on host communities.
The organisation also called for further studies to determine the impact of decades of pollution associated with oil exploration on the human rights of affected communities, particularly in the areas of health, water quality, fisheries and agriculture.
The Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, made the demands during the launch of the organisation’s report titled Nigeria: Lifting the Lid in Port Harcourt.
Sanusi urged oil companies to contribute to a well-funded environmental clean-up initiative, describing it as a necessary step towards restoring the Niger Delta in line with international best practices.
He stressed that affected communities must have access to information about the condition of oil facilities and the environmental consequences of their operations, insisting that the practice of excluding host communities from such information must stop.
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The Amnesty International director also called for an investigation into allegations of complicity by Shell staff in oil bunkering and bribery activities.
Sanusi said it was unacceptable for oil companies to shift responsibility for environmental pollution to host communities while ignoring the damage caused by their operations.
He recalled his visit to Bille community in June, where he said he was shocked by the level of environmental degradation and the living conditions of residents.
According to him, the response of some industry supporters, who blamed communities for the pollution, was an attempt to divert attention from the responsibilities of oil companies.
He maintained that Amnesty International would continue to challenge what he described as attempts to misrepresent the causes of environmental suffering in the Niger Delta.
Sanusi expressed hope that the Federal Government would act on the organisation’s recommendations, adding that Amnesty International would soon forward the report to President Bola Tinubu and urge him to take appropriate action.
The report, according to the organisation, contains internal documents that expose alleged negligence in Shell’s oil operations in the Niger Delta and raises concerns about the company’s environmental responsibilities in the region.
