Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Oil-producing communities across the Niger Delta have resolved to unite and demand reparations and environmental justice from international oil companies divesting their assets from the region, accusing them of abandoning decades of pollution and exploitation without remediation.
The resolution came during a regional meeting of community representatives from Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, and Abia States, held at the EDEN Resource Centre in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The gathering, facilitated by Environmental Defenders Network, EDEN, focused on strengthening community awareness and strategies to hold Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings and other indigenous oil companies accountable in the wake of Shell’s planned divestment.
Deputy Executive Director of EDEN, Alagoa Morris, said the meeting was crucial to building a unified front against oil companies that had long devastated the environment and lives of host communities.
“Shell’s divestment is not an exit, it’s an evasion,” Morris declared. “This is a ploy to escape the consequences of decades of environmental and human rights abuses, rebranding under local names while the same operations continue.”
He stressed that communities must “rise above intimidation and divide-and-rule tactics” to demand accountability and compensation for the massive ecological damage suffered over the years.
Participants shared grim testimonies of recurring oil spills, polluted rivers, poor harvests, health crises, and deepening poverty. They condemned the divestment process, describing it as “a name change without real change.”
From Bayelsa, Okala Precious of Elebele Community lamented the continuing hardship caused by oil operations.
“Our environment is completely polluted and our means of livelihood destroyed. The only thing that gave us joy — power supply — has been decommissioned. The Petroleum Industry Act that should protect us even forbids us from protesting the injustice we suffer,” he said.
Representing Abia State, Nelson Nwafor described a climate of fear among oil-bearing communities.
“Accessing these companies for dialogue has become impossible. They use security agencies to silence community voices. It’s time we speak with one voice to demand accountability,” he stressed.
From Rivers State, Ngbar Lezin of Korokoro community in Tai Local Government Area, spoke emotionally about the health impacts of decades-long pollution by Shell.
“Women in my community are experiencing early menopause, blindness, and miscarriages. Since 1958, Shell has not done one health audit in our community. Now they want to divest and leave us with sickness and sorrow,” she lamented.
From Delta State, activist Jonah Gbemre of Iwherekan community cited the 2002 court judgment ordering Shell to stop gas flaring — a ruling still unimplemented 23 years later.
“Justice has eluded us for too long. If individual communities can’t win alone, then we must unite. Collective action is the only way to hold these companies to account,” Gbemre declared.
Program Manager for Women and Gender at EDEN, Keziah Okpojo, emphasized women’s inclusion in environmental justice efforts, while EDEN’s Media and Communication Manager, Elvira Jordan, urged communities to harness social media to document and expose pollution cases.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Defenders Network, with support from the Global Greengrants Fund, presented findings from a new research titled “Shell’s Awkward Divestment in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.” The report examines Shell’s exit plan and warns of further environmental degradation if host communities are excluded from post-divestment frameworks.
EDEN’s Executive Director, Barr. Chima Williams, has since taken the advocacy to key institutions, including the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, the Federal Ministry of Environment, and the National Oil Spill Detection and Remediation Agency, NOSDRA, urging urgent reforms.
“We are pushing for transparency and accountability in all divestment processes,” Williams said. “Oil companies must not leave behind a legacy of pollution and poverty — they must repair what they destroyed.”
The meeting ended with a renewed call for unity among oil host communities, as participants vowed to continue advocacy for justice, environmental remediation, and fair compensation before any divestment deal is finalized.
