BEVERLY HILLS, August 06, (THEWILL) – London based advocacy group, Platform, said it is intensifying its campaign for the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell, to clean up “its crude oil mess” in the Niger Delta region.
The group also confirmed that the new CEO of Shell, Ben Van de Beurden, has agreed to visit the region in that regard.
“Ben Van de Beurden announced that he will visit the Niger Delta to speed up action by the company to tackle oil pollution. He also stated that Shell has put cash aside for the clean-up to happen,” Nigeria oil and human rights campaigner, Sarah Shoraka, said in an email.
While expressing thanks to those who signed its earlier petition to the new CEO of Shell, Shoraka attributed the moves by Shell to tackle the oil pollution ravaging the Niger Delta to the efforts of many who signed the petition saying “what you did made a difference”.
Platform said it has already put up petitions for people to sign, pressuring the new Shell CEO to match action with his words.
The group also expressed delight over the cheery news that the UK High Court had found that Shell could be liable for oil theft, saying “it is a ground-breaking ruling.”
According to the electronic statement, by the time the full trial takes place next year, 11,000 Nigerians stand to gain compensation for a huge oil spill that destroyed their lives.
“But today, exactly three years after a UN study showed exactly what Shell needs to do, widely reported new monitoring work by Platform and a range of organisations shows that communities are still dealing with life-threatening pollution every day.
“We need to build on this momentum and keep up the pressure. We need to know how Shell will spend the money and where it is cleaning up oil pollution,” Shoraka said.
According to Shoraka, “In May, Platform released Polluted Promises based on my research on the ground in the Niger Delta.
“It showed that despite Shell’s promises, people are dying, sick, can’t feed themselves and have no clean water because Shell destroyed their environment by drilling for oil and didn’t clean up.
“On the 20th anniversary of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s last arrest, we took the message directly to Shell and also brought some of you together at the site of the Living Memorial to Ken Saro-Wiwa.
“During the next 18 months, we’ll be working alongside NGOs in Nigeria and in Europe to help restore long overdue justice for the people of the Niger Delta.”
