Amnesty calls for wider cleanup of Niger Delta
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Trust
Illustrative image · Mathias Reding · Pexels · Licence PexelsAmnesty International is calling on the Nigerian government to assess the health impact of oil pollution in the Niger Delta and launch an environmental restoration programme. In a report titled Nigeria: Lifting the Lid, presented in Port Harcourt, the organisation says the cleanup of Ogoniland does not address pollution suffered by other communities.
Amnesty International Nigeria is calling on the federal government to assess the consequences of persistent oil pollution in the Niger Delta for public health, water resources, fisheries and agricultural activities. The organisation is also calling for a comprehensive environmental restoration programme covering the entire region, according to Daily Trust.
At the launch of its report in Port Harcourt, Dominic Twomey, coordinator of Amnesty International Nigeria’s campaign network for business and human rights, said the findings were based in particular on court documents, internal emails and confidential audits. The report examines the historical impact of Shell’s activities in the Niger Delta before the divestment of its Nigerian onshore subsidiary.
Amnesty recommends independent assessments of active or decommissioned oil facilities, with their results made public. The organisation is also calling for the creation of a sufficiently funded environmental restoration fund to finance the cleanup of the delta according to international standards and is urging oil companies operating in Nigeria, including Shell, to contribute to the fund, according to Daily Trust.
Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, announced that the organisation would engage in discussions with the federal government to have its recommendations considered. Amnesty says the ongoing cleanup in Ogoniland should not replace efforts to tackle pollution in other communities in the Niger Delta, according to Daily Trust.
