The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), has hailed the judgement by the Netherland’s court of appeal, which held Shell liable for the oil spills it caused across coastal communities of the Niger Delta Nigeria.
Recall that in 2008, four Nigerian farmers from Ikot Ada Udo, Oruma and Goi in Niger Delta and Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands, sued Shell as a result of oil spill that affected farmlands of the three Nigerian villages.
Shell was sued in a Dutch court by Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN)’s sister non governmental organisation in Netherlands (Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands), against which Shell argued that actions committed in Nigeria could not be tried in Netherlands.
Shell argued that while criminals and third party interference were responsible for oil spill in 2008, it did not cause the spill.
However, the farmers in the affected communities, demanded among other things that Shell cleaned up the oil spill; pay compensation for the damages caused; and improve the maintenance of its pipelines and installations to prevent further spills.
Hailing the judgement, the legal officer of ERA/FoEN, Mr Nosa Tokunbor in a statement made available to ASHENEWS on Friday, said though the case had dragged on for over 13 years, the appeal court in the Hague ruled on January 29, 2021, that Royal Dutch Shell was liable to pay compensation for the oil spills which polluted rivers, fish ponds and farmlands of thousands of local farmers and fishermen.
The Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, Dr Godwin Ojo in his reaction, said it was a landmark judgement, adding that the days of oil companies like Shell in the Niger Delta area were numbered.
“Shell no longer has any hiding place. This victory will open up a floodgate of court cases against Shell and the oil companies doing businesses in Nigeria and hiding under weak regulations, lack of enforcement of its extant rules, and taking advantage of the lack of political will of the Nigerian government to bring oil transnationals to account.
“The significance of the landmark judgement is that it addresses the question of access to justice that is very much in question in Nigeria when it comes to holding the oil companies accountable for their human rights violations and environmental degradation.
“The judgment has further shown the environmental liability of parent companies for the conduct of their foreign subsidiaries.
“The judgement is urgent and strategic as the world transits away from fossil fuels. There is the need to ensure that the devastation done to our environment by Shell is cleaned up and appropriate compensation is paid to communities that have suffered irreparable losses.
“Notably, Shell has been selling its land-based assets and along with it, its legacies of environmental devastation, social dislocation, violence and poverty to avoid accountability.
“Therefore, our communities owe it to themselves and their generations unborn to ensure that Shell does not escape its responsibilities,” Ojo said.
While observing that the communities’ pursuit for justice for over 13 years had paid off, Ojo enjoined Shell to comply with the court judgement.
“ERA/FoEN again calls on the Nigerian government to revamp its regulatory bodies in the oil industry, ensure that criminal acts of oil transnationals are punished severely.
“And that the country starts taking concrete steps to wean Nigeria of its dependence on revenues from oil and gas, build a new economy on the back of a clear renewable energy framework as quickly as possible and ensure the gradual phasing out of oil and gas activities in Nigeria,” the Executive director stressed.
