Shell’s $5bn fine: N’Delta activists demand compliance
Niger
Delta activists have urged the Federal Government to ensure that the $5
billion fine it imposed on Shell Petroleum Development Company is paid
to avoid increased agitation in the region.
Shell was fined because
of the leak at the Bonga oilfield, which spilled about 40,000 barrels of
crude into the ocean, affecting coastal towns of the Niger Delta
December last year.
According to the
Director-General of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response
Agency, Peter Idabor, the fine was imposed due to Shell’s failure to
maintain the hose that leaked, and this amounted to negligence that
could not go unpunished.
In its response, Shell insisted there was no basis for the fine, claiming it acted quickly to contain the spill.
The Managing Director of
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Chike Onyejekwe,
reportedly said the company would challenge any attempt to impose the
penalty.
However, human rights and environmental activists in the region, who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH, said they were not pleased with Shell’s response.
According to the
Chairman of Ijaw National Congress, Joshua Benamaisia, the people of the
region are watching the situation and would act at the appropriate
time.
He asid, “It is good
that government has woken up. But the truth of the matter is that Shell
has in the past evaded fines imposed on them by the government, just as
they have failed to implement the recommendations of the United Nations
Environment Programme report.
“This time, we are
watching them keenly and all Nigerians are watching. This will show us
whether it is the government or the multinational corporations that are
running this country. Let them not pay the fine, then we would see who
is who in this country.”
Similarly, the Executive
Director of Environmental Rights Action and Chair of Friends of the
Earth International, Nnimmo Bassey, said Shell’s refusal to pay the fine
was capable of disrupting peace in the Niger Delta.
Bassey said, “I hope
that this time the Federal Government would stand its ground and ensure
that Shell pays that fine. The company always finds a reason to evade
such fines.
“The people of the
region have been peaceful in spite of the challenges they have been
facing. But this kind of response from Shell is capable of raising the
temper of the people and disrupting the fragile peace that Shell has
been enjoying in Niger Delta. I will advise them to retract the
statement they made and comply. The fine is even small compared to the
amount of damage the Bonga spill caused on the environment.”
In his view, human
rights activist and former President of the Movement for the Survival of
Ogoni People, Ledum Mitee, said government’s response to Shell’s
refusal to pay the fine would be a proof of Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“For too long, the oil
companies have been allowed to get away with murder. Every day people
have been dying from drinking contaminated water because oil spills
caused by the negligence of the oil companies have polluted their
sources of drinking water.
“If they refuse to pay
the fine imposed by government, then they are creating the stage for the
communities to demand the compensations by themselves, which would not
augur well for the peaceful relationship between the company and the
communities,” he said.
In the same vein,
frontline human rights activist in the region, Ankio Briggs, said the
fine must be collected and used to develop Niger Delta.
“Shell is saying there is no basis for
the fine. No problem. When they can no longer get the oil from the Niger
Delta, they would know that there is basis for the fine. This is the
kind of arrogance that annoys the people of Niger Delta. Well, we are
watching.
