Ogale Community Protests Shell’s Oil Spill Amid UK Court Battle for Environmental Justice

Ogale, Dozens of residents from the indigenous Ogale Community in Rivers State, including youths, women, and chiefs, staged a peaceful protest on Thursday, barricading a Shell manifold where a recent oil spill overflowed from a containment pit.

Clad in black attire, protesters held placards with messages like “SHELL HAS POISONED OUR GROUND WATER” and “SHELL CLEAN UP YOUR MESS,” demanding urgent action from the oil giant.

The demonstration coincided with a UK High Court hearing involving over 13,000 farmers and fishers from Ogale and Bille communities in Rivers State, who are seeking compensation for decades of pollution that has ravaged their lands, waterways, and livelihoods.

Celestine Akpobiri, an Ogoni environmental activist, condemned the Nigerian government and Shell for prioritizing oil production over cleanup efforts. “You cannot turn on the tap and mop the floor at the same time,” Akpobiri stated. “If the cleanup is projected to take 30 years and barely seven have passed, why resume drilling now? Only a fool would worsen a crisis while claiming to fix it. Human lives must come first.”

He emphasized the irreversible damage caused by spills and gas flaring: “Our crops fail, our groundwater is toxic. Even boreholes yield contaminated water. Cassava, our livelihood, no longer grows. Shell must pay for this destruction.”

Kagima Igwe-Benjamin, a women’s leader in Ogale, echoed the despair: “Our land is ruined. We have no clean water, no food. Our children suffer illnesses. Shell must clean this mess and restore our environment.”

Decades of oil spills in the Niger Delta have caused catastrophic environmental harm, displacing thousands, crippling local economies, and triggering severe health crises.