Oil spill at Goi Creek, Nigeria, August 2010. Photo source: ©© Friends Of The Earth
In October 2004 a major oil spill occurred in the Trans-Niger pipeline, which runs through the Ogoniland to the Bonny Export Terminal. Following the spill, fire broke out. The oil and the fire reached the mangrove forest in the Tidal region of the village of Goi. For three days Shell unsuccessfully attempted to extinguish the fire. After four days the disastrous aftermath could be seen: 15 hectares of mangrove forest were devastated, all the fish killed and hundreds of trees with high economic value (palm trees, mango trees, coconut palm, avocado and more) had gone up in flames. It was not until July 2007, 33 months after the October 2004 oil spill, that Shell began the clean-up… Captions: “Goi Case Against Nigeria,” EJ Atlas
Excerpts;
Thousands of Nigerian fishermen have rejected an offer of $50 million from Royal Dutch Shell for “some of the largest oil spills in history,” their British lawyers said Friday after winning a landmark court ruling.
It is the first time Shell has had its environmental record in Nigeria on trial by a British court. The thousands of compensation cases in often corrupt Nigerian courts drag on for years and often end with victims being paid a pittance. Until now, Shell has paid compensation only for spills caused by equipment failure…
Read Full Article, The Huffington Green
Oil pollution in Niger Delta: Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland Report; Unep (08-04-2011)
A report by the UN Environment Programme, which carried out a 14-month assessment of pollution from over 50 years of oil operations in Ogoniland – Niger Delta region, has found widespread and devastating oil pollution that may require the world’s biggest ever clean-up, that could take 20-30 years. The UNEP also called for the oil industry and the Nigerian government to contribute $1 billion to a clean-up fund for the region to properly address this “tragic legacy.”
Oil Washes Ashore in Nigeria, Reuters (01-02-2012)
Nigeria’s Oil Disasters Are Met By Silence, Guardian UK (06-09-2012)
The global media have had little to say on Nigeria’s latest oil spill and the hundreds of others that have destroyed so many lives. In any other region of the world the behaviour of the oil companies involved would result in major sanctions and criminal prosecutions…
Illegal Oil Refineries In The Niger Delta, in Pictures; Guardian UK (01-22-2013)
Photographer Akintunde Akinleye documents for Guardian UK, the dangerous practice of illegal oil refining in the Niger Delta, which damages the environment and the health of local people…
