On January 21, 2025, President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria met with members of the Ogoni community of the Niger Delta to discuss the potential resumption of oil drilling within their lands.
Oil extraction was halted over two decades ago, after the Ogoni people organized to end Shell’s destructive presence within their community. Ogoniland, which was once home to a rich tapestry of biodiversity, is now one of the most polluted regions on the planet. Much of its tropical vegetation has died off and its water sources are tainted due to thousands of Shell oil spills. This pollution jeopardized the Ogoni people’s livelihood and quality of life as farming and fishing was a major source of their food and income.Polluted air and water has also negatively affected resident lifespan. Over the years, this has been the source of community organizing, protests, and other forms of civil unrest, which are often quelled by Nigerian security forces.
During a January meeting, President Tinubu suggested that the “Ogoni people set aside historical grievances and work together to achieve peace, development, and a clean environment.” This proposal elicited strong opposition from Ogoni civil society and community members who were initially excluded from these conversations. The National Security Adviser scheduled a subsequent meeting to consult more Ogoni leaders. However, many environmental and civil society organizations expressed that this congress still failed to include adequate stakeholder representation and protests broke out as a result. Protesters argued that a decision to resume oil extraction overlooked enduring ecological and social injustices as environmental degradation is still pervasive throughout Ogoniland. Proposing resumption of oil drilling without adequately addressing “historical grievances” feels disingenuous to the Ogoni people.
As Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) Member, Dennis Sunday Eebia stated to CAL: “[Resumption of oil drilling] would be like inflicting a wound on someone who already has a fatal and untreated wound.”
This blog post discusses the history of oil extraction and the subsequent environmental impact within the Niger River Delta, the potential for the resumption of oil drilling in the region, and the Ogoni community’s reaction to this proposal. It concludes with a call for interest from the greater Nigerian population and international community.
A Brief History of Oil Drilling in Ogoniland
Ogoniland is an oil-rich region located in Southeast Rivers State, in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, and home to the resilient Ogoni ethnic group. For decades, the Ogoni people have tirelessly fought against the environmental degradation of their land as a result of Shell’s, a British-Dutch company, oil drilling. Between 1976 and 1991, over two million barrels of oil was spilled in 2,976 separate spills. Shell’s exploitation of Ogoniland devastated the biodiverse, mangrove ecosystem including severe soil and groundwater contamination and acid rain caused by gas flaring. As a result, the land is no longer as suitable for healthy agriculture and polluted waterways have reduced the fish population considerably. Life expectancy in the Niger Delta is also ten years lower than the national average.
The Shell subsidiary’s degradation of Ogoniland adversely impacted the Ogoni people’s rights to a safe environment and livelihood. Shell suspended oil production in Ogoniland in 1993 due to mounting opposition, and lawsuits drawing international attention have resulted in some clean-up efforts. Despite this, Ogoniland still suffers from the damaging impact of oil drilling. Attempts at oil clean-up have failed to address underlying issues, and have thus stalled; and dilapidated oil infrastructures in Ogoniland continue to leak oil into the environment. In response to the damaging effects of oil contamination within their land and among their community, the Ogoni people have actively worked to obtain justice and accountability for decades.
A flow station near K-Dere, Ogoni (2023)
Ogoni Fight for their Rights
MOSOP was founded in 1990 by Ogoni environmental advocate, Ken Saro-Wiwa, to address Shell’s exploitation of Ogoniland. MOSOP organized hundreds of thousands of Ogoni people and established a non-violent movement to protest against the corporation. The civil society organization also advocated for the best interests of the ethnic minority, including the rights to a clean environment, livelihoods, and control over resources, as detailed in the “Ogoni Bill of Rights.” By 1993, the Ogoni had successfully stopped Shell’s extraction of oil within their land. However, at the height of MOSOP’s movement, Ken Saro-Wiwa was wrongfully tried and executed along with eight other Ogoni activists, also known as the “Ogoni Nine.” Subsequently, other Ogoni activists who continued to oppose Shell’s presence in Ogoniland were allegedly attacked, raped, and even murdered. This persecution led to the flight of over 3,000 Ogoni people to Benin as asylum seekers.
These horrific tragedies did not stymie the community’s organizing; instead, it galvanized the Ogoni people who took their fight to the courts. Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum was filed on behalf of twelve Ogoni activists by the Center for Constitutional Rights and was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Another case, Wiwa et al. v. Royal Dutch Petroleum et al. settled for $15.5. million in 2009. In January 2013, a Dutch court ruled that Shell could be held partially responsible for pollution in the Niger Delta in response to a suit filed by Friends of the Earth in 2008 in the Netherlands. Shortly after, in April 2019, SCOTUS threw out the Kiobel case, holding that the Alien Tort Statute did not apply because the case did not sufficiently touch and concern the United States, a damaging loss for both the community and corporate accountability cases.
In January 2015 and August 2021, Shell settled UK lawsuits with two Ogoniland communities, Bodo and Ejama-Ebubu, and agreed to pay $83 million and $111.6 million respectively for oil spill cleanup. However, in 2023, the UK Supreme Court held that it was too late for two Shell subsidiaries to be sued for an oil spill that took place in 2011. Most recently, the UK High Court set dates for preliminary trials for claims the Bille and Ogale communities of Ogoniland brought against Shell over ten years ago.
Over the past two decades, the Ogoni community has experienced justified wins and devastating losses in courts and commissions all over the world. In a show of dogged determination, the Ogoni people continue to seek reparations and damages for the decades of harms suffered and in the hopes of securing their futures.
Discussions Held to Resume Oil Drilling
The Ogoni community remains diligent in their pursuit of justice; but despite their continued demands and efforts, they have not received the sought after remediation, including the restoration of their environment. The recent congress called by President Tinubu is not the first time resumption of oil drilling in Ogoniland has been discussed. In 2019, a presidential memo detailed the Nigerian government’s plans to take over Shell operations in Ogoniland. These plans were drafted without the consultation or consent of the indigenous Ogoni population, and Ogoni activists decried the initiative. Subsequently, Nigerian troops were deployed to the region, increasing tensions and violence in the area. At that time, MOSOP emphasized that ignoring the current pollution and resuming oil extraction in Ogoniland was unacceptable. Attempts to resume oil extraction were again paused in response to the public outcry and demands for a thorough cleanup.
In January 2025, President Bola Tinubu held a closed-door meeting in Abuja with Ogoni leaders, several senators, the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed; Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh; Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas; and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari. The meeting was made public in a press release from the President’s Office, stating that President Tinubu called for unity and mutual cooperation and trust with the Ogoni people in order to bring peace and environmental development to the area. In early February 2025, the National Security Adviser convened another delegation in Rivers State to facilitate the resumption of oil drilling. The president gave this directive, noting the session should be a consultative and inclusive process. While this intent was relayed by the Nigerian government, Ogoni activists specified this was not the case in practice.
Community Response
A large protest disrupted and prematurely ended the February 2025 convening; protesters communicated that the discussion continued to exclude important Ogoni stakeholders; notably members of MOSOP were not represented. MOSOP President, Fegalo Nsuke, expressed concerns that MOSOP’s exclusion would result in increased distrust and further alienate the Ogoni people. Additionally, protesters continued to call for the exoneration of the “Ogoni Nine,” a longstanding goal for activist groups within the region.
While some reports suggest that the resumption of oil extraction in Ogoniland has been met with support from the youth, pending the active engagement and informed consent of the Ogoni people, others imply that Governor Fubara and NSA Ribadu’s efforts do not reflect the best interests of Ogoniland and factions promoting resumption of drilling have been paid off by the government and are not indicative of the will of the Ogoni people. On a call with Corporate Accountability Lab, KorneBari Nwike, former President of the National Union of Ogoni Students and current President of the Center for Accountability, Transparency, and Human Development noted, “The [Nigerian] government is not sincere with the Ogoni people and have not made adequate steps to involve the Ogoni people and the diaspora in these discussions. They utilize a selective process and only pick those who are loyal to the government.”
A halt to oil extraction plans until transparent consultations with the Ogoni people are conducted, including with women and youth groups, and the environment is fully remediated;
A commitment for comprehensive cleanup and compensation for loss of livelihoods
Full implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report recommendations from 2011, which documented extensive pollution in Ogoniland and proposed a detailed cleanup plan;
The exoneration of environmental activist and Ogoni leader, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight other activists who were executed in 1995;
Implementation of the “Ogoni Bill of Rights,” including the establishment of Ogoniland as an autonomous State.
The international community also responded, bringing the conversation and calls for environmental justice to the global stage. On February, 12 2025, protesters interrupted the 29th ICIS World Base Oils and Lubricants conference with cries of “Justice for Nigeria!” emphasizing that the injustices against the Ogoni community have not been remedied after several decades and that Shell has been “poisoning the land, the air, and the water.” Over thirty years later, Ogoniland is still contaminated, dilapidated oil structures are overseen by Shell security, the water sources remain polluted, and environmental clean up has halted.
What’s Next
Undeterred by mounting pressure from government and private actors, the Ogoni people remain steadfast in their demands, noting that this would be the first step to rebuilding trust within the community. “[The Nigerian government] needs to consult grassroots organizations and not rush the process. Oil resumption should not be the first priority, but rather environmental clean up. After which they should consult and address the Ogoni Bill of Rights if they truly care about the Ogoni people,” Dennis Sunday Eebia shared.
One of the demands specified within the “Ogoni Bill of Rights” is political autonomy and the right to self-govern. The indigenous group, if granted this self-determination, is confident that they will be able to manage the natural resources within their land in a way that benefits the entire community and mitigates environmental harm. The Ogoni people have admirably fought for justice for many years, but as KorneBari Nwike shared, the Nigerian and larger international community should not see this struggle for justice as limited to the Ogoni people, but applies to all those who have been victims of extractive industry abuse. If effectively implemented, it may be possible to replicate the template used for the Ogoni people among natural resource-rich communities throughout Nigeria and the world.
Siju Falade is a Staff Attorney at Corporate Accountability Lab.
