Afrika Nå: Niger Delta oil spills - who are responsible?

Afrika Nå

The successive oil spills in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria over the last decades have destroyed the local fishery, the drinking water and the opportunity to cultivate land. But who is responsible? Is it solely the Nigerian government? What about oil companies operating in the area? The Norwegian pension fund (Oljefondet) has shares in Shell that is operating in the Delta - should they be held responsible? And what about the local groups sabotaging the oil infrastructure? The cleanup process is estimated to take at least 30 years before all the swamps, fishing grounds and mangroves are restored. An agreement on the cleanup was signed in Nigeria in 2015, but to date nothing much has happened. If different parties are responsible for the oil spills, should they also be held responsible for the oil spill cleanup process?