From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The people of Ekpetiama Kingdom in Bayelsa State have protested against hydrocarbon pollution which has affected over 1.5 million people in the state.
Its monarch, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV, at a press briefing on Monday, July 7, in Abuja, tasked the Federal Government and the international community to reject Shell’s attempts to escape justice and to hold the company accountable for its environmental crimes.
The royal father, who cited a report by the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC), explained that the oil firm has plagued the community with environmental degradation such as poor farm yields and health challenges.
According to him, members of these communities battle cancer-related problems caused by chromium and benzene, exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) safety limits, and contamination of primary water sources, forcing residents to rely on polluted creeks and ponds.
The king, along with other civil society organisations, instituted a lawsuit against Shell, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Attorney General of the Federation, and the Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, demanding a declaration that the divestment was unlawful and an injunction restraining Shell from finalising the transaction until legal obligations are met.
Also, he claimed that Shell carried out its activities with reckless abandon, creating catastrophic environmental damage, destroying livelihoods, and harming the health of community members through unremediated oil spills.
He said: “This case is not just about me or my kingdom. It is about justice for the entire Niger Delta. I live with the constant light that has obliterunion activities with reckless abandon, creating catastrophic environmental damage, destroying livelihoods, and harming the health of community members through unremediated oil spills.
He said: “This case is not just about me or my kingdom. It is about justice for the entire Niger Delta. I live with the constant light that has obliterated the night, the noise and the poison in the air. My people drink from polluted streams and farmlands laced with crude.
“Our children breathe soot, our people now suffer from cancers and unexplained diseases that were unknown before oil came.”
On his part, Executive Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Dr Nnimmo Bassey, called on the Nigerian government and the international community to reject Shell’s attempts to escape justice and to hold the company accountable for its environmental crimes.
Bassey said: “The findings of the BSOEC make the situation painfully clear. Shell’s legacy is one of death zones, toxic exposure, loss of livelihoods, and denial of dignity. That is why we stand in unwavering solidarity with His Royal Majesty King Bubaraye Dakolo and the people of Ekpetiama.”