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Nigerian Activists Freed, But Shell's Pollution Remains It took years of campaigning and the death of one of Nigeria's most brutal dictators, but on Sept. 7th, 20 Ogoni environmentalists were "unconditionally released" from a Port Harcourt, Nigeria prison. Held for more than four years without trial, the "Ogoni 20" had been accused of the same politically-motivated murder charges that the Nigerian military used as a rationale to hang writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders in November of 1995. Their release is a victory for the four-year long international campaign waged by environmentalists and human rights advocates demanding their freedom. "We are thankful that General Abubakar has finally seen fit to release our Nigerian colleagues," said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope in a Sept. 10 press release. "No one should ever be imprisoned for advocating a clean environment," he added. The Sierra Club has argued that the Ogoni 20 were imprisoned for supporting Saro-Wiwa's campaign for a clean environment -- a campaign that targeted the community's biggest polluter, Royal/Dutch Shell, the company that is also Nigeria's largest oil producer. Unfortunately, the Ogoni 20 have left one prison for another. They are returning home to a region that is now an occupied military zone where the freedom to speak and organize is brutally restricted. The Ogoni are forbidden to even speak about Ken Saro-Wiwa or his efforts, and the oil companies involved there are content to maintain the status quo. Ken Saro-Wiwa was the leader of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), a grassroots environmental organization formed in the Niger delta to confront Royal/Dutch Shell's 30 years of pollution and collusion with the Nigerian military. More than 2000 Ogoni men, women and children have died in protests calling for Shell to adhere to environmental standards in Nigeria like those the company is held to in the US and Europe. The company so far has failed to clean up an environmental mess which has destroyed Ogoni farmlands, fisheries and livelihoods, and has refused to accept a UN High Commissioner's report calling for an independent environmental survey of the area. We are encouraged to see Nigeria embrace change. We hope that Shell will follow. But then again, had Shell truly been concerned about their environmental impact in Ogoni they would have allowed an independent team to review their operations long ago. To take action: Send a letter (and your cut-up Shell credit card if you have one) to the new President of the Shell Oil Company, Jack Little, P.O. Box 2463, Houston, TX 77252; (800) 248-4257, fax: (713) 241-4044. Remind Mr. Little that the Sierra Club Board of Directors in 1995 endorsed a boycott of Shell products until the company has cleaned up its mess in Nigeria. Demand that Shell accept a UN High Commissioner's report calling for an independent environmental survey of its Nigerian operations. And don't forget to Boycott Shell Oil! Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
