Amnesty International has demanded that oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria's Niger Delta pay into a well-funded environmental restoration fund, in a report presented on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, that documents what the organisation described as 60 years of negligent oil operations in the region.

Issa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, delivered the findings in Port Harcourt at the launch of the report, titled "Nigeria: Lifting the Lid." He called on oil companies to take responsibility for the environmental damage caused by their operations and to support restoration efforts in affected communities.

"The contribution of a super-fund must be sufficient to fully clean up the Niger Delta to the highest international standards," Sanusi said. "We are urgently calling for the initiation of a clean-up programme to restore the Niger Delta environment."

What does the report allege?

The report examines six decades of oil operations in the Niger Delta and documents alleged failures to protect communities and the environment. Sanusi attributed those failures to the prioritisation of corporate profits over human lives.

The findings arrive amid long-running disputes over pollution liability in the delta, one of Africa's most important oil-producing regions. Amnesty's intervention raises direct reputational and potentially financial stakes for the operating companies named in the region's energy sector.

What is Amnesty demanding?

Sanusi set out a series of specific demands directed at both the federal government and the industry:

• A restoration super-fund. Oil companies should contribute to a well-funded environmental restoration fund to finance comprehensive cleanup of the Niger Delta, with contributions large enough to restore polluted sites to international standards.
• Infrastructure audits. The government should conduct comprehensive audits of operational and decommissioned oil infrastructure belonging to fossil fuel companies.
• Public disclosure. Audit findings should be made accessible to affected communities to promote transparency and accountability.
• Human rights studies. Authorities should commission research into the human rights impacts of decades of oil pollution, particularly on residents' health, water quality, fisheries and agriculture.

Who bears responsibility for the pollution?

Sanusi explicitly rejected attempts to place responsibility for oil pollution and environmental degradation solely on host communities, a framing that has shaped liability debates in Nigeria for years. He said Amnesty International would continue to challenge such narratives and demand accountability from companies and relevant authorities.

"Those responsible for oil pollution and environmental degradation must be held accountable for their actions and comply with the rule of law," he said.

The director also urged residents of oil-producing communities to read, discuss and share the report in order to raise awareness and press for accountability from operators and government agencies.

What happens next?

Amnesty International will write directly to President Bola Tinubu and forward a copy of the report, urging the federal government to implement its recommendations. The move places the cleanup question on the presidential agenda and sets up a test of whether Abuja will compel industry contributions to a restoration fund.

For operators in the Niger Delta, the report sharpens a question that has hung over the region for 60 years: who pays for the cleanup, and to what standard.