The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) says the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, SPDC, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC is responsible for the death of over 314,800 Ogonis who suffered and died from organ related diseases in the past 60 years.
Speaking today at the MOSOP National Secretariat in Bori-Ogoni, headquarter of Khana local government area of Rivers State when he received the leadership of an Ogoni youth group, Alison Youth Movement of Ogoni, President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, who pledged MOSOP’s commitment to bring Shell to justice for these crimes said Shell cannot run away from its dirty past in Ogoni and the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
Nsuke accused Shell of being responsible for the death of over 314,800 Ogonis in 60 years through environmental pollution which had been responsible for large cases or organ related diseases and deaths. He said some preliminary studies undertaken by MOSOP reveal that Shell’s ecological wars in Ogoni were traceable to a shocking and incredible 314,800 deaths in the past 60 years.
He said MOSOP decided to take up the study after it found a strong correlation between environmental pollution and organ failures which Ogoni has suffered in over 60years due to Shell’s poor and reckless operating standards in the area.
He described Shell’s activities in Ogoni as genocidal and assured that the company will not go unpunished for these crimes.
“What Shell has done in Ogoni is genocidal and today we find young people dying from terminal diseases because of the pollution of Shell”
The MOSOP President also accused Nigeria of failing to protect its people from irresponsible multinationals like Shell.
“Our country, Nigeria, has unfortunately aided and tolerated these crimes through unfair laws that takes away the peoples’ rights and natural endowments, allowing multinationals to destroy the people’s environments without remedies, leaving them helpless and unable to seek redress within the country and consequently causing thousands of deaths without any repercussions for Shell the polluter” he said.
“But we must ensure that the company does not get away with this. We must fight to bring Shell and all their accomplices to justice” The MOSOP President said.
Nsuke described Shell as a dirty and irresponsible company who should have long been booted out of Nigeria for its crimes against the people. He said Shell’s poor business practices in Nigeria and intolerance of civil criticism was inconsistent with the company’s published policies and were racist.
The MOSOP President further said Shell’s actions in Ogoni were extremely brutish especially the sponsorship of state backed repression leading to the death of an estimated 4,000 Ogonis between 1993 and 1999.
These are crimes we cannot wish away and allow to go unpunished and it is our duty to bring Shell to justice for these crimes. He concluded.
The Alisor Youth Movement of Ogoni led by its president, Comr. Sunday Abel Gbaranugbe had called on the MOSOP president in solidarity. Comr. Gbaranugbe commended the MOSOP president for his interventions in the conflicts in Ban Ogoi axis of Ogoni. He urged MOSOP to continue to push forward the implementation of the Ogoni Development Plan and for self determination for the Ogoni people.
