Ikot Ada Udo - Milieudefensie

eNVIrONMeNTAL rIGHTS ACTION, OCTOBer 2007
The Ikot Ada Udo case:
The hissing and leaking
‘Christmas tree’
This oil installation was called
the ‘Christmas tree’ because of its
shape
By means of three lawsuits,
an annual profit of 20 billion
Milieudefensie, its Nigerian
dollars should not be able to
sister organisation erA and
escape the impacts of its acti-
four Nigerian farmers and
vities. This factsheet details
fishers are holding both
the Ikot Ada udo case.
Nigeria (Shell Petroleum
Development Company of
Nigeria – SPDC, a subsidiary
of Shell) liable for the damage that oil spills have caused
in their villages. They believe
that a Dutch company with
Christmas tree
Shell placed an oil installation in the village
of Ikot Ada udo nearly 50 years ago at the
head of an oil well. Shortly after it installed
the wellhead, Shell decided not to produce oil in Ikot Ada udo but left the installation in place. Since then the wellhead has
been left abandoned among the vegetable gardens of the village of Ikot Ada udo.
It has been nicknamed the Christmas tree
because it resembles one.
Shell oil well
Shell pipeline
Nigeria
Friday Alfred Akpan
Goi
Ikot Ada Udo
Oruma
5
KADIr VAN LOHuIzeN/NOOr
Shell Headquarters and Shell
The plaintiff:
Friday Alfred Akpan was born on
25 October 1956. He works as a
supervisor in the Nigerian state
Akwa Ibom, and is assistant secretary in Ikot Ada udo. The oil leaks
in the village have mainly caused
damage to his fishponds.
A series of leaks
Friday Akpan: ‘Shell comes only to
stop the leak. Then they leave the village without cleaning up the contamination, restoring the area or paying
compensation for the damage suffered. The residents of Ikot Ada Udo
are angry, very angry.’
Change in the situation
In August 2006 the villagers discovered
that the leaks were becoming worse and
reported this to Shell. Shell related via the
managing director of Shell Nigeria, Mutiu
Sunmonu, that the pollution was not that
bad. Due to rainfall, only a small quantity
of oil reached the agricultural lands of the
villagers. Nevertheless, the leaks continued.
In August 2007 the situation truly became
alarming. The oil installation started to spray
raw oil over the fields, accompanied by a
deafening hissing noise and penetrating gas
smell. Heavy rainfall carried the oil in rivulets
and into the village fishponds. The fish died
and the drinking water became polluted.
Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR, January 2008
Over the last ten years, noxious fumes
and a brown oily substance have regularly escaped from the oil installation. This
apparently was caused by malfunctioning of
old parts and lack of maintenance by Shell.
Villagers reported multiple leaks in the period between 1996 and 1999, and in 2004.
The oil installation and the devastated surrounding area
the oil leak within seven days. This resolution was adopted on the same day that
Shell stopped the leak, 7 November 2007.
tion, even though this is required by Nigerian law. It was not until September/October 2008 that Shell attempted to clean up
the oil. A large amount of the oil-saturated
land was piled up in the forest a bit further
away. The farmlands and fishponds which
were polluted by the oil that swept over
them have never been cleaned up.
Clean-up
The oil pollution was still not cleaned up
by the time the rainy season started. By
early 2008 Shell had not even started an
investigation into the scope of the pollu-
The current situation
Aquaculture is still not possible and residents have still received no compensation.
Shell has provided the village with funding for a drinking water tank and water
pipes. In the meantime, a small wall has
also been constructed about the Christmas tree, and Shell has ordered a concrete
plug to be installed.
Dead ­cassava plants around the oil
­install­ation
The oil installation sprayed oil over a
three-month period, starting from August
2007. The village distrusted Shell, fearing
that this time too, the company would just
come to stop the leak and leave. The villages didn’t want to allow Shell access and
then to be left with the damage. Therefore, the government took the initiative to
set up talks between a village representative and Shell. It was not until 23 October that an understanding was reached
between Shell and the villagers. A decision
was taken that Shell would first have to
stop the leak. In early November 2007 the
Nigerian parliament passed a resolution to
ensure this, strongly urging Shell to stop
6
Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR, January 2008
Three months of oil
Friday Akpan: ‘We have not been able
to use the soil and water in our village
for the past four years due to Shell’s
negligence. They should pay us compensation for that.’
This factsheet has been financed in part by the
EU. Its content is the responsibility of Milieudefensie [Friends of the Earth
Netherlands] and can in no way
be considered a reflection of
the positions of the EU.