Africa
Nigeria: Leaked files reveal why Niger Delta oil spill cleanup failed

Nigeria’s efforts to clean up oil spills in the Niger Delta have been deemed a “total failure” by senior United Nations officials, according to leaked files.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (Hyprep), the Nigerian agency responsible for the cleanup, has been criticized for its incompetence and corruption.
Despite receiving $1 billion in funding from oil companies, including a $300 million contribution from Shell, the cleanup efforts have been marred by mismanagement and embezzlement.
Hyprep selected contractors without relevant experience, sent soil samples to laboratories lacking necessary equipment, and blocked auditors from checking work completion.
A satellite image from 2021 showed acres of bare land in the Niger Delta, which was supposed to be restored to green farmland.
Instead, it was left a sandy “moonscape” unusable for farming, according to U.N. documents.
The U.N. warned the Nigerian government in a 2021 assessment that Hyprep’s spending was not being tracked.
Internal auditors were considered “the enemy” and “demonized for doing their job.”
Hyprep’s former chief, Philip Shekwolo, blocked financial controls and “physically prevented” auditors from checking that work had been completed.
Shekwolo’s predecessor as Hyprep chief removed him as acting chief in February 2022, citing concerns about his close ties to politicians.
Shekwolo denied being too close to politicians and insisted no reason was given for his removal.
The U.N. Environment Programme ended its official involvement in the Nigerian oil spill cleanup last year, explaining its five-year consultancy was over.
However, sources close to the project concurred with the former environment minister’s assessment that the real reason was U.N. frustration over corruption.
A discreet investigation by U.N. scientists in 2023 discovered the area domiciled just outside Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital, was left with a “complete absence of topsoil,” with almost seven times more petroleum remaining than Nigerian health limits allow.
The company responsible had its contract revoked, Nenibarini Zabbey, the current director of Hyprep.
A review done by the U.N. in January 2022 found 21 of the 41 contractors okayed to clean up spill sites had no relevant experience. These included construction companies and general merchants.
They were effectively handed a “blank cheque,” U.N. Senior Project Advisor Iyenemi Kakulu is recorded saying in the minutes of a meeting with Hyprep and Shell.
Incompetent companies were to blame for bad cleanups, Hyprep’s own communications chief, Joseph Kpobari is in the minutes as having said. Despite this, they were rewarded contracts for more polluted sites, the U.N. delegation warned.
Zabbey denied Kpobari’s admission. He said 16 out of 20 sites in the project’s first stage are certified as clean by Nigerian regulators and many have been returned to communities. Hyprep always issued contracts correctly, he said.
Two sources close to the cleanup efforts, speaking anonymously for fear of loss of business or employment, said when officials visited laboratories used by Hyprep, they lacked equipment needed to perform the tests they reported.
In a letter to customers, one U.K. laboratory frequently used by Hyprep acknowledged its tests for most of 2022 were flawed and unreliable and the U.K. laboratory accreditation service confirmed the lab was twice suspended.
The consequences of these failures are dire. Thousands of oil spills have occurred in the Niger Delta since the 1950s, contaminating water sources and destroying livelihoods.
The Ogboinbiri community in Bayelsa state, for example, suffered its fourth oil spill in three months, harming fields, streams, and fishing.
“We have not harvested anything,” said farmer Timipre Bridget. “There is now no way to survive.”
“The Nigerian government must take immediate action to address these issues and ensure a transparent and effective cleanup process,” added Mr. Godknows Shobiri, a youth activist in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
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