Justice in the Niger Delta?

Yesterday, justice (of some sort) was finally served through a $15.5m out-of-court settlement between Royal Dutch Shell and the family of Ken Saro Wiwa, the environmental and human right’s activist who championed the rights of the Ogoni people in Nigeria. The case alleged that Shell was complicit in murder, torture and other abuses by Nigeria’s former military government against activists in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Saro Wiwa, who at the time was campaigning for the rights of the local people and protesting the mounting environmental crisis, was executed by hanging in 1995 amidst international outcry. At the time, Shell was the largest operator in the region.

While I am certainly thrilled for the victory of the Ogoni people, I question if justice has really been served. Along with the $15.5m payout, Shell issued the following statement:

While we were prepared to go to court to clear our name, we believe the right way forward is to focus on the future for Ogoni people, which is important for peace and stability in the region.

This statement is particularly rich given that prior investigations have revealed that Shell lied about importing arms into Nigeria. True, the trial process may have yielded unfavorable results for the plaintive, and years of appeals from the accused, but a conviction in such a case would set a strong precedent on corporate accountability to human rights and environmental responsibility in overseas operations.

Roughly 75 percent of the 27 million civilians living in the Niger Delta, a globally critical wetland, rely on the natural environment for their livelihood. Shell has rendered their land useless. The Delta is characterized as “one of the world’s most severely petroleum-impacted ecosystems.” Shell’s practice of gas flaring (where natural gas which is a byproduct of the oil extraction is burned off in open spaces) has contributed more greenhouse gas emissions than all other sources in sub-Saharan Africa combined. The process has contaminated waterways and fields with toxic chemicals and carcinogens, land which local communities rely on. An estimated 1.5 million tons of oil has spilled into the Niger Delta ecosystem over the last 50 years, roughly equivalent to one Exxon Valdez spill each year.

The Exxon Valdez spill cost the company hundreds of millions in retribution and clean up fees. From where I’m sitting, it looks like Shell got a deal – a small payout and no accountability to sweep a giant mess under the rug, at least a little longer.

UPDATE: For more background on the case, read Ken Saro Wiwa Jr. piece on his father, published in the Guardian last month.