An international human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has said that decades of oil spills from Shell Plc’s operations have damaged the health and livelihoods of many inhabitants of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Amnesty International’s Head of Business and Human Rights, Mark Dummett, said this on Tuesday while reacting to the report of Shell’s proposed sale of its Nigerian Onshore oil assets to a consortium of local companies for over $1.3 billion.

Shell in a statement on Tuesday said it will sell its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), for a consideration of $1.3 billion, with buyers making an additional payment of up to $1.1 billion relating to prior receivables at completion.

Shell stated that the buyer of the asset, known as Renaissance, is a consortium formed of ND Western, Aradel Energy, First Exploration & Production (E&P), Waltersmith, and Petrolin.

According to the multinational oil company, “Completion of the transaction is subject to approvals by the Federal Government of Nigeria and other conditions.”

Shell said that it will remain a major investor in Nigeria’s energy sector through its deepwater and integrated gas businesses, adding that it “will retain a role in supporting the management of SPDC JV facilities that supply a major portion of the feed gas to Nigeria LNG (NLNG), to help Nigeria achieve maximum value from NLNG.”

Reacting to Shell’s proposed sale of its onshore oil assets, Amnesty International’s Dummett said that Shell has earned billions of dollars from oil business in Nigeria and must make sure that its withdrawal does not have negative human rights and environmental consequences on Nigerians, especially the inhabitants of the Niger Delta.

Dummett in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), called for effective remedy for people whose rights have long been abused, demanding that Shell should not be allowed to wash its hands off the problems and leave, and that the Nigerian government should require Shell to provide a full assessment of existing pollution and the current state of its infrastructure.

Dummett said, “For decades oil spills have damaged the health and livelihoods of many inhabitants of the Niger Delta.

“Shell has earned billions of dollars from this business and it must make sure that its withdrawal does not have negative human rights and environmental consequences. We are calling for effective remedy for people whose rights have long been abused.

“Shell should not be allowed to wash its hands of the problems and leave, and we urge the Nigerian government to require Shell to provide a full assessment of existing pollution and the current state of its infrastructure. This information needs to be shared with affected communities.

“Nigeria’s government must ensure local inhabitants’ concerns about the sale are fully appraised and addressed, and uphold and protect the human rights of its citizens, including their rights to an adequate standard of living, clean water and health.”(SAHARA REPORTERS)