Lagos, Nigeria – It has taken 13 years for Fidelis Oguru to get the victory that he and a group of other farmers in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region so badly wanted.
On Friday, the Court of Appeal in The Hague ruled that Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), was at fault for environmental degradation caused by pipeline leaks in the villages of Oruma and Goi in the Niger Delta region.
The Dutch court ordered the Nigerian arm of the British-Dutch company to pay yet-to-be-decided compensation to the affected villages.
“I am very happy and I thank God,” said Oguru, an 80-year-old farmer and one of the plaintiffs from Oruma village.
â¢Spillage caused by sabotage, oil firm insists
Festus Akanbi
Judgement came in favour of four Nigerian farmers yesterday when an appeal court in the Netherlands ruled that the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell was responsible for oil pipeline leaks in three communities in the Niger Delta and ordered it to pay unspecified damages to the farmers.
The court said the amount of damages would be determined later and did not specify how many of the four farmers would receive compensation.
After 13 years of legal wrangling, the appeal court in The Hague ruled: âShell Nigeria is sentenced to compensate farmers for damages.â
Court Orders Shell Nigeria to Compensate Farmers
The company is liable for two leaks that spewed oil over an area of about 60 soccer fields in two villages.
Jan 29th, 2021
AP Photo/Mike Corder
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) In a victory for environmentalists and Nigerians whose land was polluted by oil leaks, a Dutch appeals court ordered energy giant Shell s Nigerian subsidiary to compensate farmers in two villages for damage to their land caused by leaks in 2004 and 2005.
Friends of the Earth Netherlands director Donald Pols hailed the ruling as a victory for small communities hurt by huge companies. Up until this morning, Dutch multinationals could act with impunity in developing countries . and this has changed now, Pols said. From this moment onwards, Dutch multinationals will be held accountable for their activities and their actions in developing countries. And that s an enormous victory for the rights of law globally.
Friends of the Earth supporters unfold a banner on Friday outside the district court in The Hague, Netherlands, where the court delivered its judgment in a long-running case in which four Nigerian farmers are seeking compensation and a cleanup from energy giant Shell for pollution caused by leaking oil pipelines in the Niger Delta. Mike Corder/AP
toggle caption Mike Corder/AP
Friends of the Earth supporters unfold a banner on Friday outside the district court in The Hague, Netherlands, where the court delivered its judgment in a long-running case in which four Nigerian farmers are seeking compensation and a cleanup from energy giant Shell for pollution caused by leaking oil pipelines in the Niger Delta.