– SERAP has urged the Federal Government
to stand up to powerful oil companies that
have continued to abuse the human rights of
the people of the Niger Delta
– The group urged President Muhammadu
Buhari to implement the ECOWAS Court
judgment which ordered the Nigerian
government to punish oil companies
Niger Delta Pollution
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability
Project (SERAP) has urged the Federal
Government to “stand up to powerful oil
companies that have continued to abuse the
human rights of the people of the Niger Delta
with impunity for decades if it is to
satisfactorily resolve the crisis in the region.”
Against the background of continuing crisis
in the Niger Delta fuelled by the activities of
the ‘Niger Delta Avengers’ who are
relentlessly bombing the country’s oil
infrastructure and have slashed its crude
output, SERAP in a statement by the
organization’s executive director Adetokunbo
Mumuni said that, “An important part of the
solution to the human rights crisis is for
President Muhammadu Buhari to implement
the ECOWAS Court judgment which ordered the
Nigerian government to punish oil companies
over oil pollution and devastation in the
region.”
The statement reads in part : “This
government should make sure that the
activities of oil companies in Nigeria bring
development to the people, rather than a string
of needless human rights tragedies.”
“The government of former President Goodluck
Jonathan ignored the judgment and showed no
political will to hold to account oil companies
that have for many years continued to destroy
the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people
with almost absolute impunity. President
Buhari shouldn’t repeat Jonathan’s mistake.
He should make sure that his government
adheres to this judgment without further
delay.”
“Oil companies, particularly Shell, have
managed to evade responsibility for far too
long. And successive governments have
allowed them to do so, putting profits before
people. As a result, communities badly
affected by oil pollution are sinking further
into poverty, unable to eat the contaminated
fish or drink the water, stained black from the
pollution.”
“It’s also clear that oil companies wield
tremendous influence over the regulatory
regime that governs their operations.
That has
to change for the good and peace of the
region. The change that Buhari champions
should include justice for the victims of oil
pollution in the Niger Delta, and that’s why the
ECOWAS judgment is so significant because it
provides the framework for action.”
“The government should impose fines on oil
companies for breach of regulations over the
past 10 years and take measures to punish the
companies. The government should also
investigate the role that oil companies and
others have played and continue to play in the
environmental pollution in the region, and
widely publish the outcome of any such
investigation.”
It would be recalled that the ECOWAS Court
of Justice in December 2012 in a case
brought by SERAP upheld the right of the
people and communities of the Niger Delta
to a general satisfactory environment and to
an adequate standard of living.
The court unanimously ordered the
government to: hold oil companies and other
perpetrators of the environmental damage
accountable; ensure reparation for the
collective harm done to the communities;
restore within the shortest possible time the
environment of the Niger Delta; and prevent
the occurrence of damage to the
environment.
The court also found that “oil spills pollute
water, destroy aquatic life and soil fertility with
resultant adverse effect on the health and
means of livelihood of people in its vicinity.
The government has failed in recent years to
take any single action to punish perpetrators
of oil pollution. It is incumbent upon the
Federal Republic of Nigeria to prevent or tackle
the situation by holding accountable those
who caused the situation (with the clear
expectation of impunity) and to ensure that
adequate reparation is provided for the
victims.”
The court further stated that the numerous
laws passed to regulate the extractive oil
and gas industry and safeguard their effects
on the environment, the creation of agencies
to ensure the implementation of the
legislation, and the allocation to the region,
13% of the revenue that comes from natural
resource extraction in the region to be used
for its development, have totally failed to
prevent the continued environmental
degradation of the region, “as evidenced by
the facts abundantly proven in this case and
admitted by the very same Federal Republic of
Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, SERAP has commenced
contempt proceedings against the federal
government, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN),
Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, and Alhaji Ahmed Idris,
Accountant-General of the Federation for
failing to comply with the judgment ordering
publication of the spending of recovered
stolen funds since return of democracy in
1999.
to stand up to powerful oil companies that
have continued to abuse the human rights of
the people of the Niger Delta
– The group urged President Muhammadu
Buhari to implement the ECOWAS Court
judgment which ordered the Nigerian
government to punish oil companies
Niger Delta Pollution
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability
Project (SERAP) has urged the Federal
Government to “stand up to powerful oil
companies that have continued to abuse the
human rights of the people of the Niger Delta
with impunity for decades if it is to
satisfactorily resolve the crisis in the region.”
Against the background of continuing crisis
in the Niger Delta fuelled by the activities of
the ‘Niger Delta Avengers’ who are
relentlessly bombing the country’s oil
infrastructure and have slashed its crude
output, SERAP in a statement by the
organization’s executive director Adetokunbo
Mumuni said that, “An important part of the
solution to the human rights crisis is for
President Muhammadu Buhari to implement
the ECOWAS Court judgment which ordered the
Nigerian government to punish oil companies
over oil pollution and devastation in the
region.”
The statement reads in part : “This
government should make sure that the
activities of oil companies in Nigeria bring
development to the people, rather than a string
of needless human rights tragedies.”
“The government of former President Goodluck
Jonathan ignored the judgment and showed no
political will to hold to account oil companies
that have for many years continued to destroy
the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people
with almost absolute impunity. President
Buhari shouldn’t repeat Jonathan’s mistake.
He should make sure that his government
adheres to this judgment without further
delay.”
“Oil companies, particularly Shell, have
managed to evade responsibility for far too
long. And successive governments have
allowed them to do so, putting profits before
people. As a result, communities badly
affected by oil pollution are sinking further
into poverty, unable to eat the contaminated
fish or drink the water, stained black from the
pollution.”
“It’s also clear that oil companies wield
tremendous influence over the regulatory
regime that governs their operations.
That has
to change for the good and peace of the
region. The change that Buhari champions
should include justice for the victims of oil
pollution in the Niger Delta, and that’s why the
ECOWAS judgment is so significant because it
provides the framework for action.”
“The government should impose fines on oil
companies for breach of regulations over the
past 10 years and take measures to punish the
companies. The government should also
investigate the role that oil companies and
others have played and continue to play in the
environmental pollution in the region, and
widely publish the outcome of any such
investigation.”
It would be recalled that the ECOWAS Court
of Justice in December 2012 in a case
brought by SERAP upheld the right of the
people and communities of the Niger Delta
to a general satisfactory environment and to
an adequate standard of living.
The court unanimously ordered the
government to: hold oil companies and other
perpetrators of the environmental damage
accountable; ensure reparation for the
collective harm done to the communities;
restore within the shortest possible time the
environment of the Niger Delta; and prevent
the occurrence of damage to the
environment.
The court also found that “oil spills pollute
water, destroy aquatic life and soil fertility with
resultant adverse effect on the health and
means of livelihood of people in its vicinity.
The government has failed in recent years to
take any single action to punish perpetrators
of oil pollution. It is incumbent upon the
Federal Republic of Nigeria to prevent or tackle
the situation by holding accountable those
who caused the situation (with the clear
expectation of impunity) and to ensure that
adequate reparation is provided for the
victims.”
The court further stated that the numerous
laws passed to regulate the extractive oil
and gas industry and safeguard their effects
on the environment, the creation of agencies
to ensure the implementation of the
legislation, and the allocation to the region,
13% of the revenue that comes from natural
resource extraction in the region to be used
for its development, have totally failed to
prevent the continued environmental
degradation of the region, “as evidenced by
the facts abundantly proven in this case and
admitted by the very same Federal Republic of
Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, SERAP has commenced
contempt proceedings against the federal
government, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN),
Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, and Alhaji Ahmed Idris,
Accountant-General of the Federation for
failing to comply with the judgment ordering
publication of the spending of recovered
stolen funds since return of democracy in
1999.
Comments