OILY FACTS FROM
NIGERIA
Some two million barrels of oil are
pumped out of Nigeria each day. New FoEI
affiliate Project Underground discloses
some of the consequences of this oily
business...
Deaths
- More than 2000 Ogoni have died at the
hands of the military since the beginning
of their campaign to throw Shell out of
their territory.
- At least 400 Ijaw were reported killed
in 1999 in incidents collected by Project
Underground. The deaths were allegedly due
to police brutality and violence during
protests against Shell, Chevron and other
oil companies operating in the Niger
Delta.
- More than 700 people have been killed
by pipeline explosions.
Destruction
- The 5,000 barrels of oil spilled by
Shell in March 1999 affected the
livelihoods of 29 Ijaw fishing
communities.
- 24 oil flow stations operated by Shell
were closed in October 1999 due to a major
oil spill on the Asaramatoru River,
affecting nearly 10,000 people.
Resistance
-
Operation Climate Change
, a
programme of non-violent civil
disobedience, was launched in January 1999
in order to take action against the six oil
companies operating in the Delta. Five oil
companies - Agip, Chevron, Mobil, Shell and
Texaco - and their operations are feeling
the heat generated by
Operation Climate
Change
.
- 13 activists occupied Shell offices in
London in January 1999. They barricaded
themselves in for five hours until police
cut off the electricity, smashed down the
door and arrested them.
- 2,000 Ogoni marched on Shell's offices
in Port Harcourt in May 1999 to protest the
environmental damage that Shell's past
operations have brought to their
region.
Project Underground
