Activists demand prosecution of Shell over Wikileaks revelations

By Ayo Okulaja
December 13, 2010 06:50AM


Environmental activists have urged the Nigerian government to begin criminal prosecution of executives of oil giant, Shell, for alleged treasonable activities committed by the corporation as revealed by an online whistleblower, WikiLeaks.

In the released cables of US diplomats in Nigeria, WikiLeaks revealed that Shell’s vice president Ann Pickard admitted to a former US envoy to Nigeria that its employees were seconded to all the relevant ministries and agencies of the Nigerian government and thanks to the infiltration, the company was able to keep a tab on all governmental policies and deliberations.

But the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) said the revelation has shown that rather than operate as a company, the oil-giant had become “a pseudo-political organization bent on taking political power and undermining our national interest, national security and our sovereignty.” The group, in a statement, issued yesterday, said Shell had gone beyond merely doing business in Nigeria but had “perfected its despicable act of corporate rule through which it has over the years evaded justice for all its atrocious activities against the environment and the Niger Delta People.”

Quoting statements credited to Ms. Pickard that the oil company knew “everything that was being done in those ministries” as the Nigerian government had “forgotten” about the extent of Shell’s infiltration and unaware of how much the company knew about its deliberations, the activists claimed that it had finally “been vindicated!”, noting that it raised alarm several years back about “Shell’s surreptitious attempt to assume full control of our national systems.”

The group noted that Shell was not only in the drivers’ seat of the oil fields of the Niger Delta but also in government policy-making meetings where it consistently instigated policy sommersaults with the Petroleum Industry Bill and other far-reaching laws that would guarantee transparency and accountability which it did not want.

“With these leaks, it is time for the Nigerian government to reclaim our sovereignty from Shell and restore dignity to the Niger Delta people by forcing Shell to stop gas flaring, reckless oil leaks and total disregard of the environment,” ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey, said.

The group said that when Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former employee of Shell was appointed minister for petroleum, “we warned that it was a tactless surrender of Nigeria’s oil industry to Shell. We told Nigerians that there is irreconcilable conflict of interest in her appointment because the minister has never for once hidden her true identity as a protégé of Shell.”

Damaging cancer

The group also called on the Nigerian government to begin an immediate “investigation to identify those Shell agents planted in ministries and government agencies and flush them out of the system.” According to the group’s programme director, Godwon Uyi Ojo, “Shell has become a cancer that is damaging every organ of the Nigerian polity. No wonder Shell has been able to evade justice for ecological devastation, complicity in cases of human rights violation and other atrocities linked to its operations in the Niger Delta.”

Secret dispatches from Washington’s embassies in Africa also revealed that Shell swapped intelligence with the US, in one case providing US diplomats with the names of Nigerian politicians it suspected of supporting militant activity, and requesting information from the US on whether the militants had acquired anti-aircraft missiles.

Mr. Bassey pointed out that with these leaks, “we have been validated by our publication in 1993 that Niger Delta people have been trapped between a vicious global corporation and a visionless government.”

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Inked_Nerd,

You haven't seen nothing. lol My grandfather who is African American from North Carolina used to tell me about living in the Jim Crow South. The stories he used to tell me when I was younger about the lynchings and how the whites disrespected black daily; it can make you cry.

Whites in the North are not blatant racist. But whites in the South are far from afraid of blacks. Many actually miss being in charge of blacks.

I do not blame Nigerians trying to come to the U.S. to make a better life for themselves. Let them travel to a nation that will appreciate their minds and not stifle them like in Nigeria.

DapoBear:

Yep. Lots of Nigerians in the US who have been there for a long time and are never coming back, unfortunately.

Why would that be unfortunate? America is a land of immigrants. People find new homes. Demographics change. Do you see Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, German-Americans returning to the country of their ancestors? The answer is no. They recognize their unique history, but they are comfortable living in America. I am comfortable living in America, and I know many Nigerians some born in the U.S. and some born in Nigeria.

Many Nigerians have not returned home after they left. I have an uncle who has been in the U.S. for 28 years and he hasn't been back to Nigeria.

It is bad, that the man needs to go abroad to get treatment. If the Nigerian federal government actually invested in our social structure, Nigerians who have the means would not have to abroad to get treatment. Sadly, the Nigerian gov't does have the right people in office.

roymary:

Only Bingos on Nairaland woulda thought a White Man in America woulda gotten the same Jail term for this kinda offense.

Exactly. . . Or people who have never been to the U.S. or lived in the U.S. They do not know that it is hard to be a black man in the U.S.

birdman:

Quoted for truth. Snipes is one of many black entertainers that become multi-racial icons. They think they have somehow transcended racial bias because of popularity. When the chips are down, your color is still the bottom line, as he has found out, the hard way.

You speak the truth. It is not easy being black in America.

You people are foolish if you don't think blacks in the U.S. are given harsher sentences than white people. This is why more black people are incarcerated in the U.S. even though they only make up 15% of the population. Don't you people realize that. There have been many whites celebrities who have evaded the IRS, but they never received a sentence like this.

People need to stop keeping their heads in the sand.

tensor777:

Well you shouldn't be surprised as these bandits wouldn't want to be captured alive in the first place.

What about the Boko Haram guy? He was captured, and then we find out that he was later killed. I think this is a major problem in Nigeria. We need follow up the ladder. There is someone far stronger than him, who was pulling his strings. It probably reaches the realm of politics.

eddy2222:

@Omenani,how does it feel are they still today

Unfortunately they are not. Maybe it is due to the differences in culture. Black American women are very headstrong, while we all know how Nigerian men are at times. These clash of egos caused that relationship to break up.

This dude is one of the reasons I could not go to Aba with my father for Christmas!  However, I am amazed, by the amount of criminal masterminds who are killed instead of taken in for questioning. Maybe the people who pulled this man's strings were behind his death.

Seems like people are either high on coke or Igbo. Nigerians will not do a thing, so stop acting like they will. People are ok with the status quo. They complain, yet do nothing.

Aloy+Emeka, your title is very misleading! Reread the article and see where you got Igbos claiming Oyo State.

The U.S. doesn't have a case against him, because he was just a middle man. A simple disseminator, who got his information from another person. Nothing more and nothing less.

ladej:

same sheeeet different president. and everytime a new president comes it either he's God given [goodluck], hes a graduate [yar adua], hes born again [OBJ]. i wont even talk about the military as they came in with guns. when will we elect on merit??

You are definitely speaking the truth. Nigerians are always so optimistic.

I do not feel that these Wikileaks have the power to cause a World War though. That is a little far-fetched and an exaggeration. It is quite damaging for many nations internally, but externally, I do not see a problem for this international system.

wesley80:

@Civil war freaks, The likes of Ojukwu, Obj, Gowon etc have lived their lives and the youngest among them is no less than 70, what ever the cables reveal abt them and an unfortunate war would only be 4 d benefit of history textbooks, not even Obj has anything 2 loose. If I were u guys I wld save my strength for those it can impact.

People who do not know their history are bound to repeat the mistakes of the past. There is so much ignorance surrounding the Nigerian Civil War, that we need to see some primary sources from the actors involved in that gruesome war. Israel still pursues Nazi war criminals even today. The war crimes from that war must be brought to light.

This is very sad. Many youth in the U.S. do not have any respect for the elderly. That is why many people once they reach adulthood, throw their parents into a nursing home. It is a horrible sight. I do understand how someone can just leave their parents in a nursing home, since these people gave you life and a roof over your head. The U.S. needs to get its priorities straight as it pertains to generational differences.

Fynist:

I can hardly bliv all diz bull.Anyways d black book of evil in Nigeria is been revealed page by page.What are we gonna find on the last page?Thats what scares me.And what are we gonna do about it!!!

This is the question you should be asking. However, I will given you an answer. People will not do anything concerning these leaks, because many people in Nigeria have no spine. It is a country filled with sycophants.

The Fulani are a beautiful people with a rich history. There are found throughout West Africa. It shows how extensive these people are. You can even find them as South as Cameroon and East into Sudan.

I am the product of a union between a Nigerian (Igbo) man and a Black American woman.

God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai to serve as the moral code of behavior for the Jews. Those are general laws. You can find a more thorough composition of Jewish law in Leviticus.

Haven't these Western nations been predicting doomsday for Nigeria for quite a while though? I dare not hold my breath for this to happen.

Where are the statistics to back this statement up? If I remember correctly, it was Eve who ate from Tree of Life and then gave it to Adam. Showing that she did not fear God's wrath. Adam was the one who was scared to disobey God.

This is the problem with Nigerians. They look to God to solve all of their problems. But they are in for a rude awakening. God helps those who can help themselves. When you take matters into your own hands, then ask for God's help to hold steady your hand. Do not expect something to fall from the sky.

Sorry, I do not understand such "gutter" English. Can you please write in proper English. I hate to strain my eyes reading garbage from those who can't articulate themselves well. If you are going to write, or speak in a language, do it properly. Thank you.