People drawn from oil extraction-impacted communities across the Niger Delta, the civil society community, and academia met over the weekend in Benin under the auspices of the Climate Justice Assembly and demanded a stop to gas flaring in the region and a total reform of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Themed Climate Justice Assembly: Yasunize & Ogonize the World for Socio-Ecological Wellbeing, the Assembly, convened by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), also demanded a full environmental audit and clean-up of Ogoniland and other impacted communities across the Niger Delta region, and fixing of the Petroleum Industry Act, lamenting that “the PIA fails our region, permits gas flaring, and unfairly blames communities for pipeline protection.”

In his opening remarks, Executive Director, HOMEF, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, noted that “Climate Justice is critical to our existence,” adding, “we are bringing together the history of many struggles around the world.”

Bassey said the struggle and campaign for environmental justice were “inspired by the struggles of the Ogoni people in Nigeria, who have faced decades of environmental devastation and halted oil extraction in their territory in 1993, and the struggle of the people of Ecuador to stop oil extraction at Yasuní-ITT, one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth. The people of Ecuador voted massively against crude oil extraction at Yasuní-ITT in a national referendum in August 2023.”

On his part, Executive Director, Miideko Environmental Development Foundation Initiative, Celestine Akpobari, who is an Ogoni man, urged people to expose those carrying out environmental degradation, adding, “If you see anyone destroying our environment and keep silent, you are an accomplice.”

In his goodwill message, former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Edo State, Dr Osagie Obayuwana, urged people not to burn the planet, just as he warned: “We are all threatened; every one of us is at risk.”

Dr Ofuani Sokolo, from the Faculty of Law, University of Benin, who spoke on Gender, Climate Change, and Community Mobilisation, said, “Women should not just be considered as an afterthought but as an integral part to address the climate crisis,” adding, “we must reassess our existing climate policies to ensure that gender is adequately included, considered, and integrated in climate policies.”

The Climate Justice Assembly, after launching ‘Yasunize & Ogonize,’ new words they said would be used for climate justice campaigns, thereafter demanded in unison: “An immediate region-wide audit covering environmental, livelihood, health, social, and economic impacts of oil and gas extraction. Immediate clean-up and restoration of damaged ecosystems, and reparations for 64 years of harm.”

The Assembly further demanded a total reform of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), lamenting that “decades of corruption have wasted our resources.” It demanded: “a. Public release of the NDDC forensic audit and prosecution of offenders. b. Review of the NDDC Act to: base all projects on community-approved needs assessments; follow fair and transparent public procurement processes; prioritise completing abandoned projects over starting new ones; enforce timely payments by government and oil companies, with penalties for late remittance.”

The Assembly further pushed for findings into the “root causes of artisanal refining,” adding that “illegal refining is a survival strategy caused by poverty, joblessness, and government failure to provide fuel locally. Immediate action to tackle unemployment and poverty. Better pipeline protection strategies. Accountability for security forces involved in oil theft and pollution from destroying seized fuel.”

The Climate Justice Assembly further demanded: “A National Assembly review to: set a firm gas flaring deadline; limit flaring to rare, defined emergencies; remove the Commission’s power to permit flaring and give it to the National Assembly; make gas flare fines equal to gas’s market value and direct them to host community funds; remove community responsibility for protecting oil installations; and remove laws criminalising community protests.”
The Assembly further pushed for “host communities, not oil companies, to control development funds. Guarantee that existing agreements between communities and oil companies stay in place.”

The Assembly pushed for a situation where states create transparent agencies for managing the 13% derivation fund, with full community participation.