An international oil company, Shell has agreed to a court judgment in the Netherlands to pay €15 million ($15.9 million) to communities that were affected by multiple oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta region of the country.
The compensation is the result of a Dutch court case brought by Friends of the Earth, in which Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary SPDC last year was found to be responsible for the oil spills and was ordered to pay for damages to farmers.
While Friends of the Earth is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries, the affected communities are Goi in Rivers; Oruma in Bayelsa and Ikot Ada Udo in Akwa Ibom of Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
In 2007, the farmers with the help of the Friends of the Earth, Netherlands, and two Nigerian lawyers, Chima Williams and Channa Samkalden initiated legal proceedings in Hague, Netherlands against Shell over its dangerous oil activities in local Nigerian communities, Investors King reports.
Reacting to the judgment and Shell’s intentions to pay the compensation, the 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 do the needful as a victory for all.
Although, Shell said it continued to believe the spills were caused by sabotage, the court however said Shell had not proven “beyond reasonable doubt” that sabotage had caused the spill, rather than poor maintenance.
“The settlement is on a no admission of liability basis, and settles all claims and ends all pending litigation related to the spills,” Shell said.
Chima Williams, a counsel in the case and the Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, said the resilience of the farmers and the communities, was a model that would galvanise other impacted communities in the region and elsewhere.
“Justice may have been delayed but it has now been served. The resilience of the farmers, their communities and determination to make Shell pay is a model that will galvanise other impacted communities in the Niger Delta and elsewhere to act and stay on course,” Williams said.
