A documentary released in the Netherlands has uncovered that Nigerian employees of the Anglo-Dutch oil company, Shell ordered the deliberate vandalization of oil pipelines for personal gain.
The documentary maker, Zembla, together with Dutch environmentalist organisation, Milieudefensie, reported in a programme that “multiple witnesses declared that SPDC, a subsidiary of Shell, caused the oil leaks”.
“According to sources, Shell employees profit from these intentional oil leaks by pocketing money from clean up budgets,” Zembla said in a press release summarising an 18-month investigation of various leaks between 2010 and 2020.
Zembla added the SPDC, along with the Dutch embassy in Nigeria, were aware of the accusations but had failed to address them.
Oil spills in Nigeria have a decades-long history, making companies like Shell, whose headquarters is based in the Netherlands, a frequent target of criticism and protest from human rights and environmental groups.
Millions of litres of oil have leaked into the Niger Delta since Shell began oil extraction there in 1958. Zembla said the “greatest oil disaster in the world is unfolding in the Niger Delta”.
Shell has denied responsibility for the leaks, which it blames on local criminals and organised gangs also stating that 95 percent of leaks are as a result of sabotage.
Residents in the Ikarama in the Nigerian state of Bayelsa told Zembla that Shell employees encourage local youths in the villages to sabotage pipelines in the area and then split funds allocated for the clean-up.
“If a clean-up is necessary, these same youths are then hired to perform it,” Washington Odeibodo, a resident told Zembla.
A former Shell security guard, who claimed to have been responsible for sabotaging pipelines in the past, said Shell supervisors and employees “split the money from the clean-up”.
“The recovery department from Shell sabotages the pipelines. If the clean-up will take seven months, they’ll stop after only three months,” he added.
According to Zembla, one saboteur said they committed the vandalism “out of hunger”.
Cees van Dam, a professor of International Business and Human Rights at the University of Rotterdam, said allegations in Zembla’s report were “credible”.
“In the Netherlands, this would certainly be considered a criminal offence. Intentional destruction of property, intentional environmental pollution, these are serious issues that no single company would accept from its employees,” he said according to the statement.
The documentary-maker claimed it was in possession of documents confirming SPDC was aware of the allegations.
SPDC has stated that it “takes these kinds of accusations very seriously” and “will report it to the Nigerian authorities” if it “finds any evidence that supports these accusations.”
Zembla said the Dutch embassy in Nigeria was also aware of the accusations, which were highlighted for two years, and confirmed by the European nation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Zembla, Former Ambassador to the country, Robert Petri, who left at the start of 2019, was recorded on video promising residents of Ikarama he would share the information with Shell.
The documentary-maker said “nothing came of the commitment”.
