This work focuses on the removal of oil from polluted water surface using activated biomass such as ogbono shell. The shell was carbonized at a temperature of 600 o C for 4h and then further modified with stearic acid. Characterization of the adsorbent produced was carried out using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study the surface morphology of raw and grafted ogbono shell. Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to investigated the functional group of different minerals. Proximate analysis was carried out to determine the surface area of the agro wastes before and after modification. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of the oil water ratio, temperature, pH and contact time on the sorption capacities of the adsorbents. Physiochemical characterization of the adsorbents revealed that surface area increased from 114 cm 2 to 190.5 cm 2 after modification. SEM and FTIR results revealed that more micro porous surfaces were created on the surface of the adsorbent after modification. Batch adsorption experiments with esterified ogbono shell revealed that 96% of crude oil was removed at a pH of 5 with oil water ratio of 1.4/100 cm 3 after 50 min at a temperature of 90 o C. Esterified ogbono shell was found to be a good adsorbent for the removal of oil layer from polluting water surface.