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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Emmanuel Akinwotu in Port Harcourt

Sooty hands and damaged lungs: the toll of Nigeria’s illegal refineries

Soot deposit on the hands of people living in Port Harcourt in south-east Nigeria.
Soot deposits on the hands of people living in Port Harcourt in south-east Nigeria. Photograph: Divine Sabr Okolo/The Guardian

Several clusters of thick black soot clasp to the lungs of a 24-year-old man in a photo taken while he was being operated on by Iboroma Aku Shed in the oil-rich Nigerian city of Port Harcourt.

Doctors opened up his chest intending to repair a hole in his diaphragm, but during the operation last year they became aware of the charred condition of his lungs.

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