Gas flaring in Nigeria

Shooting of Friends of the Earth lawyer

On 8th October 2006, Mr. B.E.I. Nwofor, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, was shot in Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta.

He sustained wounds to his thigh and, to date, has undergone two operations to remove some, though not all, of the bullets.

Mr. Nwofor is representing several communities in the Niger Delta who are taking legal action to stop gas flaring.

Friends of the Earth, both in Nigeria and internationally, are supporting these communities.

Gas flaring in Iwerekhan community

In November 2005, in the first of such case, a court ruled that gas flaring in the Iwerekhan community violated the constitutionally-guaranteed rights to life and dignity.

The court ruled that Shell should stop flaring gas in the community.

While not accusing anybody, we note that the security situation in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria in recent times is a great concern.

As we do not have any information concerning who might have carried out or is responsible for the shooting, we call on the relevant Nigerian authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Action taken

Friends of the Earth has written to Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, on the matter.

We have asked her to request information from the Nigerian authorities on the progress of their investigation.

We have also asked for the assurance that they will do everything they can to ensure that whoever carried out or is responsible for this shooting will be brought to justice.

Resource

Gas flaring in Nigeria: a human rights, environmental and economic monstrosity
(PDF† - 1.5 MB) Jun 2005
More gas is flared in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world. This report tracks its history, explains its implications, and shows how it violates human rights and damages the environment.

†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

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