Slippery Money

Seven years ago a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline burst beneath the waters of Bodo Creek, in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta. It spewed for more than 70 days, gushing an estimated 300,000 barrels of crude oil into the creeks and rivers that were Bodo City’s lifeblood. The town’s fishery and economy were devastated. Almost a decade later, the community is still trying to recover. A landmark lawsuit settlement against the company is helping, but in Nigeria, money is never a simple matter.