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 incentives structures of those involved in this informal economy. A wide informal economy has grown ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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In early 2019, Nigeria held its sixth cycle of elections since its restoration of democracy in 1999. This included two main sets of elections: Presidential and National Assembly polls, in February (after a week-long postponement, announced during the middle ...
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This is a practical guide, aimed at existing and new aquaculture farmers, to scale up available opportunities in the fish farming market by providing step by step instructions from how to set up a commercial fish farm through to sale ...
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Although male-dominated, women tend to be heavily involved in the marketing and sale of artisanally refined products. This project selected participants from surrounding communities, focusing on women at risk of participating in the artisanal oil industry, who had some experience ...
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March 2018 - September 2018 This report presents the results of a public perceptions survey, carried out by Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states. It focuses on citizens’ perceptions of the current security situation in the ...
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Real stories from ex-participants in the informal oil industry permeating the Creeks in the Niger Delta. See our graphic guide to understanding the industry, or read our in-depth More Money, More Problems report on the growth of the industry between ...
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Pipeline surveillance contracts are awarded to private firms by government agencies and oil companies. Surveillance contractors are ostensibly tasked with monitoring sections of oil pipeline, identifying any breaks and protecting them from vandalism. However, the concept of pipeline surveillance ...
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This graphic guide illustrates the stages of the value chain in the artisanal oil industry. The value chain Crude oil pipeline tapping – vulnerable infrastructure is easily accessed to fix a tap to a pipeline or well head to ...
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When crude oil is extracted from onshore and offshore oil wells it brings with it raw natural gas to the surface. In Nigeria a vast amount of this is burned directly into the atmosphere. The hazardous air pollutants emitted from ...
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The Nigerian Oil Spill Monitor gives public access to current official data on oil spills collected by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the Nigerian environmental regulator, and displays this in an online map. By making the ...
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In November and December 2018, we trained nearly 100 citizen Election Observers, Social Media Analysts, and Data Analysts as project team members to take part in Niger Delta Watch 2019. They were based across the Niger Delta, and submitted incident ...
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October 2017 - March 2018 This report presents the results of a public perceptions survey, carried out by SDN in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states. It focuses on citizens’ perceptions of the current security situation in the Niger Delta, and ...
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In 2018, SDN visited Biseni, a community in Bayelsa State, to learn more about the local impact of the oil industry. We spoke to community members about the challenges they face. Oil pollution is a major issue in the Niger ...
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Reducing 2019 election risks The 2019 Nigerian elections are now less than three months away. Given the relative success of the 2015 elections – which, although flawed, saw an incumbent president relinquish power for the first time since Nigeria’s ...
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SDN has published three case studies looking at how communities can work together to support social change. The case studies highlight how advocacy groups in Kpite, Nonwa, and Ogu have lobbied their local authorities to implement key infrastructure projects ...
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See our updated analysis for the latest version of the Nigerian Petroleum Industry Bill 2020 Today SDN publishes two policy briefs looking at key pieces of Nigerian oil sector legislation. They examine the environmental aspects of the legislation, ...
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The migration of ex-militants into Niger Delta politics Since the 2009 start of the Niger Delta amnesty programme, dozens of self-described former ‘agitators’ (ex-militants) have migrated out of the creeks and into politics. Initially, many acted as political thugs, ...
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This report calls for an alternative approach to tackle artisanal oil refining in the Niger Delta, based on an analysis of how the improvised artisanal oil refining value chain has adapted and changed in Bayelsa and Rivers states over ...
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