The full scale of Shell’s environmental carnage in the Niger Delta has been laid bare. A leaked internal report reveals that the British-Dutch giant knowingly allowed oil spills to ravage communities, poisoning water sources and destroying livelihoods for over 50 years. The documents, obtained by investigative journalists, detail a systematic cover-up where Shell downplayed the severity of leaks, bribed local officials, and manipulated scientific data to avoid cleanup costs.
For the 9 million people living in the Delta, this is not news. They have watched their farmland turn to sludge, their rivers run black, and their children suffer birth defects. But the report’s publication forces a reckoning: Shell’s complicity is no longer deniable.
The company, which has already paid out millions in compensation, now faces a class-action lawsuit from 11,000 Nigerian plaintiffs. Yet, as ever, the burden of proof falls on the voiceless. The question is not whether Shell knew, but how long our legal systems will let them get away with it.
