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

A recent clampdown on illegal oil refineries in Rivers State was welcomed by campaigners alarmed at the mounting medical toll on those living in the area. But will it have a lasting impact?

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.