By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – A Civil Society Organization, Fridays For Future Nigeria, FFFN, Monday, expressed pain and demanded justice against an International Oil Company, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, for terrible oil pollution and environmental destruction in Ogale Community in Eleme Local Government Area, and Bille Community in Degema Local Government Area, and all in Rivers State.

The National Coordinator and Country Representative of FFFN and Climate Live Nigeria, Kingsley Odogwu, said the attitude of the company is unacceptable as the communities are terribly suffering as a result of the adverse effects from the oil pollution the company has caused them.

It will be recalled that in October and December 2015, the Ogale and Bille Communities filed claims in the English Courts against Shell. The cases involve devastating oil pollution caused by Shell’s operations.

Ogale is a fishing and farming community. It relies on the Ogale Stream which runs through the land for farming, drinking, washing and fishing. The Community also used boreholes, but these are now so polluted that they are not safe for consumption or use. The oil pollution has also ruined the Community’s farmland.

Bille is a riverine community which consists of around 45 islands. Between 2011 and 2013 oil spills from Shell’s apparatus caused massive oil spills into the rivers around the community. An estimated 13,200 hectares of mangrove swamp has been damaged by the pollution. This has killed most of the fish in the rivers, and Bille’s fishing population has been left without a source of food.

Odogwu said: “The people of the Niger Delta have an inherent right to a clean and healthy environment – a right that Shell has systematically violated.

“We urge the Nigerian government and the international community to support the Ogale and Bille Communities in their quest for justice and to hold Shell accountable for its environmental destruction.”

Meanwhile, he made it known that in a show of support, FFFN and Climate Live Nigeria will hold a peaceful demonstration in Lagos on Thursday, February 13, 2025, coinciding with the start of the trial against Shell in a London High Court.

The demonstration aims to raise awareness about the environmental and human rights abuses perpetrated by Shell in the Niger Delta, and to pressure the company to take responsibility for it’s actions and provide adequate compensation and remediation to the affected communities.

The affected communities demand that Shell fulfill its legal obligations by cleaning up the pollution to international standards and providing adequate compensation for the destruction of their farmland, fisheries, and overall way of life.

Despite Shell’s acknowledgment of its responsibility, meaningful action has yet to be taken.

FFFN and Climate Live Nigeria call on all concerned citizens to join the demonstration and demand justice for the people of Niger Delta.