The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) has urged the Nigerian senate to as a matter of urgency, compel international oil companies (IOCs) to clean up the environmental damage in the Niger Delta, calling on the lawmakers to hold the companies responsible for decades of oil pollution in the region.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Olanrewaju Suraju, who is the chairman of HEDA, urged lawmakers to go beyond crude oil theft probes and address “decades of ecological destruction and economic injustice”.
Suraju commended the senate for its efforts to combat oil theft but said environmental plunder by IOCs is a “deeper and more enduring theft”.
“While we commend the senate for stepping up collaboration with security agencies to tackle oil theft, the deeper and more enduring theft is the environmental and economic plunder by IOCs,” he said.
He also accused international companies of trying to quietly divest onshore assets and exit Nigeria without addressing the environmental damage in host communities. “That is unacceptable. These companies operated for decades with little regard for the environment or the people and must not be allowed to walk away without cleaning up their mess,” he said.
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Suraju was reacting to a meeting between Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police, and the senate ad-hoc committee on crude oil theft chaired by Ned Nwoko.
The committee had called for better intelligence-sharing and stronger protection of oil infrastructure. But Suraju said securing pipelines will not solve the wider problems in the region.
“Justice for Niger Delta residents cannot be secured by police action alone,” he said. “If the senate truly wants to end economic sabotage, then it must also tackle the longstanding impunity of oil multinationals.”
He recalled HEDA’s previous campaigns against “hasty divestments” by IOCs and petitions to local and international authorities. The group has demanded clean-up of polluted sites and compensation for impacted communities, citing several court rulings against oil companies.
Story was adapted from theCable.
