Concerned by growing environmental, livelihood and climate change threats facing the Niger Delta region, civil society organizations, oil producing community members, academics and leaders drawn from the Niger Delta gathered in the city of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital on the 23rd of June 2022 to articulate the different issues and develop a…
Press Statement The Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities in Nigeria, under the auspices of Nigeria Mourns, unequivocally condemns the vile atrocities committed against worshippers at the St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State on the 5th of June 2022. We mourn these deaths as we extend our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the…
By Ken Henshaw First published on New Internationalist The two largest transnational oil companies operating in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, Shell and ExxonMobil, are packing up and leaving. Both companies have announced separate plans to sell off their assets as soon as they find buyers and to leave the Niger Delta, where they have extracted crude…
On the 23 rd of April 2022, another artisanal refining site in the Niger Delta exploded, killing over 100 persons and injuring dozens. The explosion which occurred near Ohaji-Egbema local government area of Imo state, on the border with Rivers State, also burnt off large sections of the adjoining forest, seriously impacting the environment…
Press Statement Issued by Civil Society Organisations Across Nigeria We, as civil society organisations and citizen groups across Nigeria note with concern the worsening state of insecurity in Nigeria. We, therefore, call on the government to take urgent steps to fulfil its constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property as enunciated in Section 14 (2)…
In this interview, Ken Henshaw explains why Nigerians are demanding reparations for over 60 years of Shell oil extraction (First published on Open Democracy) Ken Henshaw is the executive director of We the People, a non-governmental organisation based in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Henshaw works closely with local communities to expand civic engagement and…
On the 9th of March 2022, the Health of Mother Earth Foundation and We the People invited Niger Delta communities and civil society activists to a one-day conversation on the recently approved Nigerian Petroleum Industry Act. The event which held at the Ken Saro Wiwa Centre in Port Harcourt, also provided an open space…
By Kehinde Ogunyale of We the People’s Communication Team The latest Corruption Perceptions Index ranking by global anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International has placed Nigeria as the second most corrupt country in West Africa. Nigeria tops the list of 15 most corrupt countries in the region. Transparency International revealed that Nigeria scored 24 out of…
On the 13thof December 2021, We the People hosted a delegation of community activists and climate justice campaigners from Senegal in its Port Harcourt office. The exchange visit which is part of We the People’s plan to collaboratively establish a West Africa Climate Justice Movement, provided an opportunity for climate and environmental activists from both…
At a Town Hall Meeting in Calabar held on the 22nd of November 2021, We the People publicly presented its latest research publication focused on the phenomenon of street children in Calabar, a phenomenon which has achieved atrocious notoriety. The report which is the product of painstaking research over a period of 1 year makes…
On the 22 nd of October 2021, a select group of Ogoni leaders attended a parley at State House with President Muhammadu Buhari. Among other issues, the President stated that the ‘federal government will consider the request for the grant of pardon to finally close the Ogoni saga’. The President made this commitment to ‘consider’…
On the 20th of August 2021, following an Appeal Court ruling denying Shell ownership and access to OML 11 mostly located around the area of the Ogoni ethnic nationality, and handing same over to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, a statement from the NNPC has instructed the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC to immediately…
Following extensive research conducted by We the People on the negative impacts of oil extraction on communities of the Niger Delta, a validation town hall meeting was held in Port Harcourt on the 23rd of August, 2021. The meeting which brought together stakeholders from various oil and gas producing communities across the region, featured narratives…
Distinguished ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, The current version of the Petroleum Industry Bill failed to address community, economic and environmental concerns. We have convened this briefing and dialogue to review the state of our environment including the contentious PIB. Recall that only a few days ago, Nigeria’s Federal House of Representatives passed…
Cross River state has the largest remaining forests in Nigeria. While the country has lost 0ver 90% of its original forest cover, an estimated 50% of what remains is in the forests of Cross River state. In 2008, a unilateral state government moratorium on use of forest products resulted in the adoption of the…
In The News
