Our resources

Our resources

Opportunities to improve the Host Community Development Trusts under Nigeria's Petroleum Industry Act

Opportunities to improve the Host Community Development Trusts under Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act

This research highlights how the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) targeted toward host community development create both opportunities and challenges. The report outlines some of the key concerns under the areas of finance and governance and provides specific ...
Report: Independent Monitoring of Ogoniland Clean-up

Report: Independent Monitoring of Ogoniland Clean-up

In 2020, Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) and Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) commenced the Independent Civil Society Monitoring of the Ogoniland Cleanup project with support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and working in partnership with ...
Research paper - Mitigation and transformation solutions to networked corruption in artisanal refining in the Niger Delta: retooling anti-corruption analysis for effective policy

Research paper – Mitigation and transformation solutions to networked corruption in artisanal refining in the Niger Delta: retooling anti-corruption analysis for effective policy

SDN has worked with SOAS University of London (UK) to help map links between artisanal oil refining and other livelihoods, and highlight the ‘benefits’ or incentive structures of those involved in this informal economy. Artisanal oil refining in the Niger ...
Gas Expansion and the Energy Transition in Nigeria and the Niger Delta

Gas Expansion and the Energy Transition in Nigeria and the Niger Delta

This research analyses the possible impacts for Nigeria and the Niger Delta if it continues down the path of increasing gas production. The analysis aims to highlight Nigeria’s position within the current global gas situation. It covers Nigeria’s plans to ...
Report: Independent Monitoring of the Ogoniland Clean-up

Report: Independent Monitoring of the Ogoniland Clean-up

Biannual progress report July–December 2021 In 2020, Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) and Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) commenced the Independent Civil Society Monitoring of the Ogoniland Cleanup project with support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ...
Women and Youth Agenda (WAYA) for the 2023 Elections in Rivers State

Women and Youth Agenda (WAYA) for the 2023 Elections in Rivers State

Women and youth, including persons with disabilities, are underrepresented in politics and governance processes and their priorities are systematically neglected.
The Rivers State Women and Youth Agenda represents the priorities of women, young people and persons with disabilities in Rivers State, ...
Register to vote in the 2023 Election FAQ

Register to vote in the 2023 Election FAQ

This page will be updated if and when new information becomes available through INEC Nigeria What is Continuous Voter Registration?
To vote in the 2023 elections, you need to be registered. The only way to do this is to take part ...
Inside an artisanal oil refinery in the Niger Delta

Inside a Nigerian artisanal oil refinery (2021)

SDN has worked with SOAS University of London (UK) to help map links between artisanal oil refining and other livelihoods, and highlight the ‘benefits’ or incentive structures of those involved in this informal economy. In this video, an owner explains ...
Report: Divestment from the Delta Implications for the Niger Delta as international oil companies exit onshore production

Report: Divestment from the Delta Implications for the Niger Delta as international oil companies exit onshore production

This report explores the trends, drivers, and implications of international oil companies (IOCs) selling off assets to Nigerian domestic oil companies (DOCs). Our analysis of investment trends illustrates that divestments have been ongoing for decades, but the rate is rapidly ...
Report: Independent Monitoring of the Ogoniland Clean-up

Report: Independent Monitoring of the Ogoniland Clean-up

Biannual progress report January–June 2021 In 2020, Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) and Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) commenced the Independent Civil Society Monitoring of the Ogoniland Cleanup project with support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ...
Ogoniland clean-up dashboard

Ogoniland clean-up dashboard

Tracking progress
Welcome to our dashboard tracking key indications of progress with HYPREP's clean-up of historic oil spills in Ogoniland, Rivers State in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. This dashboard is updated every 3 months with the most up-to-date data ...
Webinar: Ogoniland clean-up dashboard

Webinar: Ogoniland clean-up dashboard

This webinar introduces the launch of our dashboard tracking progress in the clean-up of over 50 years of oil pollution in Ogoniland. We were fortunate to hear from Harry van Dijk, the Dutch Ambassador to Nigeria, and Sharon Ikeazor, the ...
Nigeria’s Presidential Amnesty Programme

Nigeria’s Presidential Amnesty Programme

Untangling the dependencies that prevent it ending Initiated in June 2009, the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has become an enduring institution. Initially it was conceived as a short-term mechanism for de-escalating and defusing the militant insurgency that destabilised the oil-rich ...
Brief: Nigeria's Presidential Amnesty Programme

Brief: Nigeria’s Presidential Amnesty Programme

In whose interests? The mismanagement of government resources allocated to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) for ex-agitators has created complex and stubborn financial dependencies. This complicates efforts to transition the PAP to an end. These dependences stretch beyond legitimate participants, ...
Defend civic space panel discussion

Defend civic space panel discussion

With recent events such as the #EndSARS, COVID19 lockdown measures, and the Twitter ban rocking Nigeria, we must gauge the effects these events and others have had on civic space in the Niger Delta. Equally we must consider how well ...
Report: The status of civic space in Rivers State

Report: The status of civic space in Rivers State

This report is based on research in Rivers State, Nigeria, on the status of civic space, and the implications for individuals and organisations seeking to defend and expand civil and political rights. This research was undertaken as part of a ...
Brief: Freedom of the press in the Niger Delta

Brief: Freedom of the press in the Niger Delta

A free press is a critical part of democracy and a progressive state. Across Nigeria there is a wealth of talented journalists doing important work to produce high quality independent journalism, holding those in power to account. However, freedom of ...
Artisanal oil refining in the Niger Delta - networked economies (2020)

Artisanal oil refining in the Niger Delta – networked economies (2020)

SDN has worked with SOAS University of London (UK) to help map links between artisanal oil refining and other livelihoods, and highlight the ‘benefits’ or incentive structures of those involved in this informal economy. A wide informal economy has grown ...
The draft Nigerian Petroleum Industry Bill 2020: an analysis of environmental and host community matters

The draft Nigerian Petroleum Industry Bill 2020: an analysis of environmental and host community matters

The latest iteration of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was forwarded to the National Assembly in September 2020. It has gone through first reading at both the Senate and House of Representatives but full deliberation and public hearing is expected ...
Community Monitoring and Advocacy Groups: handbook

Community Monitoring and Advocacy Groups: handbook

Each CMAG documents and campaigns around the development priorities of its local community, in order to get them provided e.g. repairing a road, building a new school, or waste removal. It explains what CMAGs are, how they work, and how ...
Portal: DevelopND

Portal: DevelopND

DevelopND is a community platform that aids the tracking of development projects in communities within the Niger Delta to improve transparency and accountability. "Ever since i started using DevelopND app to track project in my community, i feel confident that ...
Report: Public perceptions of security dynamics in the Niger Delta

Report: Public perceptions of security dynamics in the Niger Delta

This report summarises key findings from a series of research surveys conducted by Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) between September 2017 and January 2020. These surveys were carried out in the Niger Delta states of Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. The purpose ...
Report 6: Public perceptions of security dynamics & stabilisation interventions in the Niger Delta

Report 6: Public perceptions of security dynamics & stabilisation interventions in the Niger Delta

April 2019–September 2019 This report summarises the results of a public perception survey (PPS) carried out by Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) in three Niger Delta States – Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers. The purpose of the PPS is to understand local-level ...
Report 5: Public perceptions of security dynamics & stabilisation interventions in the Niger Delta

Report 5: Public perceptions of security dynamics & stabilisation interventions in the Niger Delta

April 2019–September 2019 This report summarises the results of a public perception survey (PPS) carried out by Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) in three Niger Delta States—Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers. The purpose of the PPS is to understand local-level concerns about ...
Report: Oil money for development in Nigeria

Report: Oil money for development in Nigeria

Improvements to financial transparency in the oil and gas sector are particularly helpful in Nigeria, a country with a large oil industry based in the Niger Delta, but little transparency in how revenues are raised and spent. This report follows ...
Panel discussion: How can communities use transparency initiatives to boost accountability?

Panel discussion: How can communities use transparency initiatives to boost accountability?

In this panel discussion (held on 06.10.2020), panelists explained how they, and their organisations, help civil society and communities affected by the oil and gas industry make use of transparency initiatives to enact changes on the ground in the Niger ...
Covid19 awareness resources

Covid19 awareness resources

These educational resources are part of a project that aims to contribute to wider efforts to slow and minimise transmission of Coronavirus Covid-19, and also to mitigate the negative social, economic, and security impacts of both the virus and the response ...
Award: Niger Delta NGO of the year

Award: Niger Delta NGO of the year

The fifth GbaramatuVoice conference centered around Security, Peace and Development in the Niger Delta, and SDN was delighted to be named "Niger Delta NGO of the year"! SDN's Programme Manager, Florence Kayemba IbokAbas delivered a short lecture on the our ...
How to use DevelopND.ng to report or check on projects near you

How to use DevelopND.ng to report or check on projects near you

The DevelopND.org is a website to list the current status of development projects in the Niger Delta, with public participation and visibility. This helps to hold agencies, such as NDDC, to account for how they spend their budget. For example, ...
Rice cultivation - alternative livelihoods in the Niger Delta

Rice cultivation – alternative livelihoods in the Niger Delta

Between 2016 – 2017 SDN engaged with locals to design and implement long-lasting solutions to the artisanal oil industry. Alternative livelihoods were the number one priority – so SDN worked with former artisanal oil industry workers to identify and trial ...
Welding - alternative livelihoods in the Niger Delta

Welding – alternative livelihoods in the Niger Delta

SDN partnered with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to train 15 youth from the Ogoni area how to fabricate a range of different cassava processing machinery. Over the training period, they also learned the business management skills required ...
Repentant cult gang members - alternative livelihoods in the Niger Delta

Repentant cult gang members – alternative livelihoods in the Niger Delta

SDN partnered with Pax Viva to demobilise and reintegrate cult gang members back into society. This process has been ongoing in Ogoni land since 2016, and reached 4,700 repentant cultists, with an 80% success rate on reintegration. A small group ...
Aquaculture - alternative livelihoods in the Niger Delta

Aquaculture – alternative livelihoods in the Niger Delta

Between 2016 – 2017 SDN engaged with locals to design and implement long-lasting solutions to the artisanal oil industry. Alternative livelihoods were the number one priority – so SDN worked with former artisanal oil industry workers to identify and trial ...
Webinar: Environmental performance index

Webinar: Environmental performance index

In 2018 alone, more than 25,000 barrels—4 million litres—of oil were spilled in the Niger Delta, and nearly half a billion cubic feet of gas was flared. But how do the oil companies involved compare?

On 01 July, we talked through ...
Report: 2018 Nigerian oil industry environmental performance index

Report: 2018 Nigerian oil industry environmental performance index

This report provides a comparative assessment of the environmental performance of 43 oil companies operating in Nigeria in 2018. This is the first environmental performance index (the Index) by SDN. It is based on the amount of oil spilled and ...
Brief: 2018 Nigerian oil industry environmental performance index

Brief: 2018 Nigerian oil industry environmental performance index

This report provides a comparative assessment of the environmental performance of 43 oil companies operating in Nigeria in 2018. This is the first environmental performance index (the Index) by SDN. It is based on the amount of oil spilled and ...
Report: The Nigerian oil spill compensation regime - obstacles and opportunities

Report: The Nigerian oil spill compensation regime – obstacles and opportunities

The history of oil pollution in Nigeria is long and traumatic. The Nigerian oil industry, which has produced and exported high quality crude for over 50 years, drives the Nigerian economy. The inhabitants of the Niger Delta, the country’s principal ...
Report: The Nigerian oil spill compensation regime - a framework for change

Report: The Nigerian oil spill compensation regime – a framework for change

This report outlines key actions that would contribute to making the oil spill compensation system in Nigeria fairer and more transparent for all. It is based on analysis of the challenges with the compensation system identified in the SDN research ...
Policy brief: A leaky system

Policy brief: A leaky system

This brief summarises research on the potential of commercial and independent data to strengthen monitoring of maritime oil-related imports and exports in Nigeria. It also provides an overview of how approaches, such as remote sensing, could be employed to track ...
Ken Saro-Wiwa Innovation Hub video series

Ken Saro-Wiwa Innovation Hub video series

Since 2018, the Innovation Hub has delivered workshops to over 3,000 participants, become one of just seven digital innovation hubs to partner with Facebook for their Nigeria programmes, and developed four start-up businesses, which now employ 22 people, with a ...
Webinar: Dirty fuels in Nigeria

Webinar: Dirty fuels in Nigeria

This webinar provides an overview of recent research by SDN which indicates low quality, highly toxic fuels are being imported and widely used across the Niger Delta, if not the whole of Nigeria. This is likely to significantly contribute to ...
WHO myth-busting Covid19 banners in Nigerian Pidgin

WHO myth-busting Covid19 banners in Nigerian Pidgin

English: We realise most messages about Coronavirus are in English, and many centre around Western culture and appearance--so we're reaching out to our Pidgin-speaking Nigerians to bust some of the most common fake news. Fake news and myths around COVID-19 ...
Report: Dirty fuel

Report: Dirty fuel

This report compares differences in the standards of, and emissions from, official fuels in licensed filling stations, and unofficial fuels produced by artisanal oil refineries across Bayelsa and Rivers states.
The analysis aims to improve upon current levels of ...
Policy brief: Dirty fuel

Policy brief: Dirty fuel

Official fuel quality regulation must be enforced to stem widespread toxic air quality in Nigeria.

Research in the Niger Delta suggests that low quality, highly toxic fuels are imported into the country by international commodity traders, who are exploiting weak ...
Bayelsa State 2019 governorship election observation assessment

Bayelsa State 2019 governorship election observation assessment

A combination of intimidation, inducement, and violence spanning the electoral period damaged the freedom, fairness, and credibility of the 2019 Governorship election in Bayelsa State. However, most voters, INEC officials, security services, and civil society organisations are to be commended ...
Report series: Public perceptions of security dynamics & stabilisation interventions in the Niger Delta

Report series: Public perceptions of security dynamics & stabilisation interventions in the Niger Delta

For over 15 years, SDN has worked with communities and stakeholders in the Niger Delta, tackling issues related to the impact of the oil and gas sector on the region. During this time, we have investigated security issues in the ...
Report 4: Public perceptions of security dynamics & stabilisation interventions in the Niger Delta

Report 4: Public perceptions of security dynamics & stabilisation interventions in the Niger Delta

October 2018-March 2019 This report presents the findings of the latest public perceptions survey (PPS), carried out by SDN in three Niger Delta states—Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. The purpose of the PPS is to understand local-level concerns about security in ...
Women speaking at a women in governance event

Report: Women’s political participation and representation in the Niger Delta

This report assesses the status and trend of women’s participation in politics as citizens and as holders of political positions in the Niger Delta. It is based on research undertaken in three states—Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers—as part of the ...
Our work in the Niger Delta

Our work in the Niger Delta

Protecting the environment We aim to reduce the negative environmental impact of the oil and gas sector, and demonstrate clean energy alternatives. Our work includes documenting, and making public, the extent of pollution, working with the Nigerian environmental regulators to ...
A voters' guide to the Bayelsa governorship election on 16th November 2019

A voters’ guide to the Bayelsa governorship election on 16th November 2019

What is accreditation, and why do I need to be accredited on election day to vote? This is to ensure that only people who are registered to vote can do so, and that only one vote is cast per person ...
Portal: Strategic Implementation Work Plan

Portal: Strategic Implementation Work Plan

Niger Delta New Vision is intended to harmonise projects across the Niger Delta, through participatory partnerships between the Federal & State Governments, Private Sector, and Local Communities. The Strategic Implementation Work Plan (SIWP) came out of this Vision, and provides ...
Women’s priorities for increased political participation in Rivers State

Women’s priorities for increased political participation in Rivers State

Across Nigeria, women are severely underrepresented at all levels of governance and face substantial social and economic barriers that hinder their active participation in politics. The situation in the Niger Delta is particularly difficult, due to highly competitive and ...