Witnessing Ecocide: Niger Delta
This series of guest blog posts is intended as a dedicated space for the many movements/campaigns around the globe confronting ecosystem destruction to share their stories, narratives and perspectives.
This blog was written by Nigerian climate advocate, Perfect Johndick.
In my territory, all I hear is nature’s silent scream begging for justice. It tells me that for decades, there has been so much impunity for the crimes against it. Listen closely, and you will hear the cries of the Niger Delta’s inhabitants. Birds whose plumage is caked with oil are struggling to take flight. Fishermen, whose nets come up empty, and who have had their livelihoods stolen by the greed of those who seek profit at any cost.
The Niger Delta, where I grew up, was once home to a thriving community among mangroves and creeks, large forests, and waterways. A place where catfish met oysters in a symphony of nature's beauty. But this beautiful habitat has been a victim of ecocide. Criminalising that harm is the only way to secure accountability for this injustice and halt the destruction of the Delta. It must be done urgently.
The poisoning of the Niger Delta
As a child, I witnessed fishermen in my town, Okrika, return home with nets full of mullets and mudskippers. Children returned with baskets of periwinkles from the mangroves and mothers made soup from the river’s resources. I heard of the Omoku people, who planted cassava in large quantities, made garri, and produced oil from palm fruit. We breathed pristine air and the rivers and mangrove forests provided fertile grounds for fishing activities, which sustained both livelihoods and cultural traditions. Clean rivers and aquifers supported agricultural activities and provided drinking water for communities.
This was before the poisoning of the Niger Delta, a tragedy that began on 15 January, 1965, with the discovery of an oil well in the community of Oloibiri. Oil, once considered a blessing, turned out to be a curse. Men came with machines and promises, taking massive swaths of land for oil firms, drilling and extracting erratically. Today, the Niger Delta is one vast oil field with over 1,400 wells, 275 flow stations, over 7,000 kilometres of oil and gas pipelines, and over 120 gas-flaring furnaces.
For decades, oil extraction promised economic prosperity but delivered environmental ruin. Spills have been common, gas flare lamps release fumes relentlessly, and the once fertile land has been poisoned. The creeks are choked with oil, suffocating the life within. Oil extraction has rendered monkeys and snakes homeless, destroyed trees, and killed periwinkles. It has contaminated and destroyed ecosystems, resulting in the loss of plant and animal species and disrupting ecological balance. The loss of biodiversity has been catastrophic.
More broadly, oil and gas extraction in the Niger Delta has added to the disaster of global warming by increasing carbon emissions and reducing carbon sequestration capacity. This is exacerbated by the large quantities of greenhouse gases released during the practice of gas flaring. Since the 1980s, its practice has been criminalised in Nigeria, but it has only grown more widespread. Since 1979, Nigeria's government has committed to more than eight promises and deadlines to end gas flaring, which they have failed to keep.
The human impact
Although it was clear by the early 1990s that oil pollution in the Niger Delta had destroyed many people's livelihoods and the environment, It was not until 2011 that strong proof emerged in the form of a UNEP report, which showed just how severely oil pollution has affected people's lives, livelihoods, health, and the environment. In particular, the assessment study showed how pollution had made drinking water sources unsafe, including the presence of 900 times the permitted amount of the cancer-causing chemical benzene. Pollutants like benzene, toluene, and xylene have led to respiratory problems, digestive problems, skin diseases, and cancer. Oil pollution has also resulted in adverse maternal outcomes.
Communities are no longer able to farm due to the degradation of the soil. When people manage to farm, they harvest little, and sometimes prematurely, because they are conscious of impending floods. Most communities in the Niger Delta experience massive floods that force them to emigrate or live an impoverished existence in internally displaced persons camps, exposing them to unclean water, sickness, poor nutrition, and causing them to lose their crops, homes, culture, and lives.
Sadly, the situation is ongoing. In November 2023, there was an oil spill in Bane Ogoni that remained visible on the river until February 2024, decimating marine life and contaminating the water to the extent that it could not be used for months.
The accountability gap
The culprits responsible for this crime are the oil and gas giants operating in the Delta. They flare gas, create constant oil spills and implement other harmful practices with astounding impunity, taking advantage of weak regulations
Amid this despair, the major players in the industry have been divesting from the Niger Delta. Corporations are packing their bags and leaving without accountability or the desperately needed compensation to repair the ecosystems they have wrecked or the vulnerable communities they have long oppressed. But the people of the Delta have refused to accept divestment. Indeed, we stand united, our voices raised in defiance, demanding justice from these corporations and saying “no divestment without restoration".
Ecocide Law: “a sign of hope” for the Niger Delta
The devastation arising from this ecological disaster, and the shocking impunity for the perpetrators, creates a compelling case to incorporate ecocide into international criminal law. Despite the existence of national environmental laws around the world, enforcement is severely limited by a lack of political will and cases brought by civil society have had limited success. This lets companies prioritise profit over protecting the environment. Moreover, international environmental law has limited use given that its goal is not to punish people but to establish principles and frameworks for international cooperation on environmental concerns.
On the other hand, the concept of ecocide law pertains to the criminalization of significant ecological harm. Integrating ecocide into the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court would help to fill a critical accountability gap by making it illegal to harm the environment on a wide scale, to a severe degree or over a long period. It would hold decision makers accountable, deterring them from committing environmental crimes in the future. It would hold people and businesses accountable for their actions, deterring them from committing environmental crimes in the future. For communities in the Niger Delta, I think that criminalising ecocide would be a sign of hope.
While critics of ecocide have pointed to implementation challenges, the Niger Delta's widespread destruction is a stark reminder of how important it is to act rapidly. Incorporating ecocide into international criminal law is a crucial step towards ensuring environmental responsibility, safeguarding our planet, and safeguarding the health of present and future generations.
Call to action
Stop Ecocide International is committed to recognising ecocide as a crime and has been advocating for its legal implementation. If their work is successful, future generations may be taught the story of ecocide and its legal punishment as a lesson in the power of cooperation and the importance of earth protection. The stakes are high, because if we fail, we could lose more than just an environment. We could also lose a part of ourselves.
I call on all heads of state and government to support the integration of ecocide into international criminal law. Moreover, I call on civil society, youth, individuals, and everyone else to join in advocating for the criminalisation of ecocide.
Together, we can make a difference and create a future where environmental protection is both a legal obligation and a fundamental human right.
STOP ECOCIDE.