Niger Delta Humanitarian Group Issues 21-Day Ultimatum to SNEPCO in Open Letter to President Tinubu Over Unpaid 2011 Bonga Oil Spill Compensation
…Demands $3.6 Billion or Threatens Nationwide Protests Across Oil Facilities in Delta, Bayelsa States
By Wilson Macaulay, Warri, Nigeria – June 3, 2025
The Peace Development Security and Humanitarian Rights Association of Niger Deltans has issued a 21-day ultimatum to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) demanding immediate compensation and remediation for the 2011 Bonga Oil Field explosion. The group, led by Comrade Mike JK Tiemo, highlights that 13 years after the catastrophic spill, the affected communities—mainly fishermen and farmers—continue to suffer from environmental degradation, economic hardship, and health issues without any redress or compensation from SNEPCO.
The ultimatum calls for prompt payment of compensation, cleanup, comprehensive environmental remediation, and sustainable development initiatives to restore the affected communities. Previous efforts, including a letter dated May 30, 2024, to SNEPCO’s Managing Director, have been ignored. The group warns it will pursue all legal and peaceful measures to escalate their demands if SNEPCO fails to respond within the 21-day period.
The association also urges government agencies like the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to enforce compliance and ensure justice for the victims. The affected communities remain hopeful but prepared to take further action to secure their rights and rebuild their livelihoods after the devastating spill that released about 40,000 barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Guinea.
In a strong and impassioned appeal that has sent ripples of anxiety through Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, the Peace Development, Security and Humanitarian Rights Association of Niger Deltans, a leading advocacy group representing impacted communities, has issued a 21-day ultimatum to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO). The Concerned impacted Communities are demanding for immediate $3.6 billion compensation for the catastrophic 2011 Bonga oil spill in OML 118 Which wrecked unimaginable havoc on them.
In a letter addressed to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR — and copied to the National Security Adviser and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State— the association called for urgent presidential intervention to avert a full-scale crisis.
Signed by Comrade Mike J.K. Tiemo (President), Comrade Wilson M. Vwerhokor (Secretary General), Comrade Graham Abulu (Logistics/National Mobilization Officer), and two other executives, the letter made available to Daily Independent Newspaper, described the long-standing neglect of the affected communities as a betrayal of environmental justice and a gross violation of the humanitarian rights of thousands of innocent Niger Deltans.”
Fourteen Years After the Bonga Spill, the Pain Lingers
The December 20, 2011, disaster — in which over 40,000 barrels of crude oil reportedly spilled into the Atlantic Ocean from Shell’s Bonga FPSO facility — remains one of Nigeria’s most devastating offshore environmental calamities. The result: ruined ecosystems, poisoned fishing waters, destroyed livelihoods, and communities pushed into extreme poverty.
“Your Excellency, fourteen years have passed, yet the victims of this spill continue to languish in pain and abandonment. Our means of livelihood have been wiped out. Our ancestral fishing waters remain poisoned. Entire communities are economically crippled,” the association wrote.
“We Have Been Pushed to the Wall”
The group emphasized that its patience has reached a breaking point. The 21-day deadline is a call to action — it’s a countdown that could plunge Nigeria’s oil industry into turmoil.
Industry insiders warn that even the threat of mass action on key oil assets could cause significant disruptions in production, spark a surge in global oil prices, and send shockwaves through investor confidence. The looming unrest carries the potential to severely dent Nigeria’s fragile economy, already reeling from inflation, a volatile naira, and dwindling foreign reserves.
If ignored, this ultimatum may well be the flashpoint for a new wave of regional instability — one with grave implications not just for the Niger Delta, but for Nigeria’s entire economic architecture.
The group’s warning, if unmet, could ignite a chain reaction of disruption, uncertainty, and crippling protests targeting vital oil and gas installations across Delta and Bayelsa States — a move that threatens to grind the nation’s oil-dependent economy to a halt, the clock is ticking.
