Shell To Pay €15M To Farmers In Nigeria’s Oil Producing Ogoni Communities
Category: Nigeria News
Multinational oil company, Shell said on Friday that it has agreed to pay 15
million Euros to farmers in Ogoni communities of Nigeria’s oil rich Niger
Delta as compensation over the damages in a case instituted over 13 years ago.
The compensation was in line with the ruling of Dutch Appeal court
of Friday 29 January which mandated Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary to
compensate the villages in Ogoniland over leakeages from its oil
pipelines.
READ: Shell Confirms Spill, Discharges Oil Into Ogoni
Four Nigerian farmers, with the support of environmental group, Friends
of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) had dragged Shell to court claiming
compensation from the company for damages from pipeline leaks Oruma and Goi
and a well leak in the village of Ikot Ada Udo, all in Ogoniland, Rivers State
between 2004-2007.
The plaintiffs also demanded that Shell should embark on the clean up
and also put in place measure to prevent further oil spills.
But
Shell denied liability, blaming the spills on sabotage and claiming that the
clean up has been carried out satisfactorily in the legal battle first filed
in 2018.
READ: Army Did Not Tell Me Before Invading Yeghe in Ogoni- Governor Wike (Photos)
But the court ruled that Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was responsible for
multiple cases of oil pollution and liable for the damage resulting from the
oil leaks.
The company said on Friday that based on the court
ruling, it has reached an agreement Milieudefensie to pay 15 million euros to
the affected communities.
“Under the settlement, The Shell
Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) as operator of the SPDC
joint venture, will pay an amount of EUR 15 million for the benefit of the
communities and the individual claimants,” it said in a statement.
It
also confirmed the installation of a leak detection system on 20 pipeline
segments in accordance with the Dutch court ruling and that remediation work
has been completed.
However, the oil firm said the deal for the
payout “is on a no admission of liability basis, and settles all claims and
ends all pending litigation related to the spills”.
In a statement
on Friday in Benin by Mr Philip Jakpor, Media Head, Environmental Rights
Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), described the historic victory
at the courts and the acceptance of Shell to pay the compensation as a victory
for all.
Let it get to all Ogoni farmers affected pls, not a selected few, because this corruption issue is everywhere in all crannies of this country
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