Campaigners to Stage ‘Oil Spill’ Outside Shell London HQ

Activists from Amnesty International UK, Fossil Free London, and the Justice 4 Nigeria coalition will stage a protest outside Shell’s global headquarters on Tuesday 20th May – the same day the oil major holds its AGM at a hotel in Heathrow where protests are barred by a court injunction.

According to the activists, Shell’s oil spills and leaks – arising from poorly maintained pipelines and wells and inadequate clean-up efforts – have devastated the health and livelihoods of many of the 30 million people living in the Niger Delta for nearly 70 years – polluting contaminated water sources, killeing fish and crops, destroyed mangrove forests, and caused serious health issues, and including respiratory illnesses, increased rates of miscarriage and infant mortality. They also cite research findings that babies born to women who lived near oil spills before pregnancy are twice as likely to die in their first month than elsewhere in the country.

Shell admitted liability for their oil pollution in 2014, yet the Bodo community has had to drag Shell back to the courts here in London, just to get them to clean up.

The activists also point to more than 13,500 Ogale and Bille residents filing claims against Shell for its ‘destruction of their environment and livelihoods’ in the High Court, and the Bodo community seeking an injunction against Shell following 17 years of major oil spills devastated their homeland. Although Shell has admitted liability and reached a settlement in 2014, campaigners claim only 7 per cent of the oil has been cleaned up.

Having recently completed the process of selling its onshore oil production assets, Shell must not be allowed to walk away without cleaning up its mess and compensating those whose lives it has damaged.

Peter Frankental, Amnesty International UK’s Business and Human Rights Director, says: “Despite numerous court rulings ordering Shell to clean up and compensate the people it has harmed, the company continues to drag its feet. Shell has made huge profits at the expense of the Niger Delta’s people without taking any responsibility, it must now be held accountable.

“For decades communities have demanded justice and the right to live in a safe, healthy environment. Shell has created a living hell in the Niger Delta – now it must clean up and pay up.”

Lazarus Tamana, Justice 4 Nigeria coalition co-founder, says: “Shell still refuses to clean up and pay up after so many years of Niger Delta people highlighting the damage Shell has caused. How is it still necessary for us to be here and call on Shell to clean up its mess? They have devastated our water, land, health and livelihoods and we continue to fight for justice.

“Shell admitted liability for their oil pollution in 2014, yet the Bodo community has had to drag Shell back to the courts here in London, just to get them to clean up. They must be held to account and compensate all affected communities.”

Robin Wells, Director of Fossil Free London, adds: “Year after year we have hit the front pages or millions of social media views holding Shell to account at their AGM, and we are sick to the back teeth. We’re not only sick of the devastation they cause, but we are sick of a system which rewards them handsomely for tearing down these fragile ecosystems that keep us all alive.

“Communities in the Niger Delta were some of the first to bear the brunt and we stand in solidarity with them as they fight for justice, but, make no mistake, like a Mexican wave of disaster, soon this climate meltdown will impact every single one of us.”

The activists add that Shell plc is domiciled in London and should legally be responsible for the environmental failures of its subsidiary company, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria. 

 The protest will feature: 

•  Activists dressed in red suits with the Shell logo in flames will pour fake oil on to activists sitting on a large map of the Niger Delta representing what Shell has been doing to the region’s people and environment. The people sitting will wear T-shirts that say Decades of Oil Spills, Polluted Waters and Devastated Communities.  
• A giant location pin highlighting the location as the Niger Delta saying: “It’s Hell in the Niger Delta”. 

·       Protesters will also carry a banner saying: “Shell: Own up, Clean up, Pay up”.
 

Event Details 

• What: Protest demanding Shell clean up and pay up for its mess in the Niger Delta coinciding with the company’s AGM
• When: Tuesday 20 May, 8:00–9:30am
• Where: Shell Centre, York Road, London, SE1 7NA