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Oil spills

An Ogoni boy collects seafood in the poluted waters of the delta.
Photo: George Osodi

Nigeria has one of the most dysfunctional oil pipeline networks in the world. In the decade since 1999, official figures put the number of breaks and leaks in the lines at an average of 1,598 a year. Many of these spills are relatively small but still have a devastating impact on the mangrove forests and on the livelihoods of people who rely on them for agriculture and fishing.

Civil Society Coalition Calls for a New Compensation Body to Address Oil Spills in the Niger Delta

A Coalition of Civil society groups and individuals have called on Oil companies and the Nigerian Government to recognise that the very nature of oil production is a direct risk to the environment. Therefore, it is their responsibility to set aside funds, which can be administered independently, for dealing with oil spills.

Niger Delta oil spills go unnoticed as the world focusses on the Gulf of Mexico

Shell recently acknowledged in its annual report that it lost 14,000 tonnes of oil (approximately 100,000 barrels) from it's pipelines and operations in the Niger Delta last year.

SDN Partner CEHRD reports on continuous oil spills in Edagberi community and ineffectual cleanup operations

On 15 August 2009, representatives from the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) visited Edagberi community in Rivers State, Nigeria, to investigate reports of continuous oil spills in the area.

Swimming in crude - Bomu community makes a stand

Bomu is suffering serious environmental problems and economic decline as a result of an oil spillage which has covered almost all parts of Bomu Creek, destroying aquatic life and a vast area of land previously used for farming.