• About Us
  • AKIP
  • Live TV
  • Our Programs
  • Latest News
    • Church News
    • Politics
    • Foreign News
    • Security
  • Airtime
  • From GM’s Desk
  • Church of Nigeria
  • Contact
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • AKIP
  • From GM’s Desk
  • Live TV
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Advent Cable Network Nigeria Advent Cable Network Nigeria
  • Home
  • About Us
  • AKIP
  • Latest News
    • Church News
    • Politics
    • Security
    • Foreign News
    • Sport
  • Live TV
  • Our Programs
  • Airtime
  • Church of Nigeria
  • Contact
Donate
Advent Cable Network Nigeria Advent Cable Network Nigeria
Home»ACNN News Update»Dutch Court Orders Shell To Pay Nigerian Farmers Over Oil Spills
ACNN News Update

Dutch Court Orders Shell To Pay Nigerian Farmers Over Oil Spills

ACNN TVBy ACNN TVJanuary 29, 2021No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email WhatsApp
After 13 years of legal wrangling, an appeals court will rule on demands by Nigerian farmers for Anglo-Dutch giant Shell to clean up devastating oil spills in the Niger Delta and pay compensation (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP)
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email WhatsApp

A Dutch court on Friday ordered Shell to pay compensation in a long-running case brought by four Nigerian farmers who accuse the oil giant of causing widespread pollution.

After 13 years of legal wrangling, an appeals court in The Hague ruled that Shell’s Nigerian branch must pay out for oil spills on land in two villages.

It also held the Anglo-Dutch parent company Royal Dutch Shell liable for installing new pipeline equipment to prevent further devastating spills in the Niger Delta region.

The case, backed by the Netherlands arm of environment group Friends of the Earth, has dragged on so long that two of the Nigerian farmers have died since it was first filed in 2008.

“The court ruled that Shell Nigeria is liable for the damage caused by the spills. Shell Nigeria is sentenced to compensate farmers for damages,” judge Sierd Schaafsma said.

The oil pollution lawsuit has been on for about 13 years, two of the Nigerian farmers have died since it was first filed.

The amount of damages would be determined later, the court said. It did not specify how many of the four farmers would receive compensation.

The farmers first sued Shell in 2008 over pollution in their villages Goi, Oruma and Ikot Ada Udo, in southeastern Nigeria.

A lower court in the Netherlands found in 2013 that Shell should pay compensation for one leak but that Shell’s parent company could not be held liable in a Dutch court for the actions of its Nigerian subsidiary.

But in 2015 the Hague appeals court ruled that Dutch courts did indeed have jurisdiction in the case.

(FILES) In this file photograph taken on October 11, 2012, (L/R): four Nigerian farmers, Friday Alfred Akpan-Ikot Ada Udo and Eric Dooh, Nini Okey Uche of the Nigerian Embassy, lawyer Prince Chima Williams and farmers Chief Fidelis A. Oguru-Oruma and Alali Efanga pose at the law courts in The Hague. (Photo by ROBIN UTRECHT / ANP / AFP)

Environmental damage.
On Friday, the court ruled that Shell Nigeria must pay compensation for the leaks at Goi and Oruma.

“In the Uruma cases, Shell Nigeria and… Royal Dutch Shell are ordered to equip the pipeline with a leak detection system so that environmental damage can be limited in the future,” the court said.

Shell Nigeria should have shut down oil supplies on the day of the spill in the cases in Goi, it said.

The court said it needed more time to resolve the case of Ikot Ada Udo, saying that the leak was due to sabotage but it was not clear whether Shell could still be held liable for it, and for cleaning up.

“For the inhabitants of the Niger Delta it is crucial that their land is cleaned up and their lost crops and livelihoods are compensated by the guilty party: Shell,” Donald Pols of Friends of the Earth Netherlands said in a statement ahead of the case.

Shell has always blamed all of the spills on sabotage and said it has cleaned up with due care where pollution has occurred.

At a hearing last year lawyers for the farmers showed gushing and burning oil spills as well as villagers dragging their hands through water sources, their hands streaked with the substance afterward.

Nigeria was the world’s ninth-largest oil producer in 2018, pumping out volumes valued at some $43.6 billion (37 billion euros), or 3.8 percent of total global production.

In a separate case in the Netherlands, the widows of four Nigerian activists executed by the military regime in the 1990s have accused Shell of complicity in their deaths.

Shell also faces a landmark legal bid to force it to meet emissions targets in the Paris climate accords, brought by several environmental groups in the Netherlands led by Friends of the Earth in 2019.

Channels TV

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email WhatsApp

Related Posts

Court Restrains Oyo Assembly From Further Impeachment Process Against Makinde’s Deputy, Olaniyan

June 29, 2022

Ekweremadu: Senate To Send Delegation To London

June 29, 2022

We’ll Probe Former CJN Tanko Muhammad Despite Resignation – Senate

June 28, 2022
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Recent Posts

Court Restrains Oyo Assembly From Further Impeachment Process Against Makinde’s Deputy, Olaniyan

June 29, 2022

Ekweremadu: Senate To Send Delegation To London

June 29, 2022

We’ll Probe Former CJN Tanko Muhammad Despite Resignation – Senate

June 28, 2022

Court Shifts Kanu’s Trial Till Nov 14

June 28, 2022

Nnamdi Kanu Loses As Court Rejects His Bail Application

June 28, 2022
Advent Cable Network Nigeria

ACNNTV is the Televangelism arm of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) with focus to keep the orthodox faith alive through development of inspiring and life changing broadcast products.

Facebook Twitter Instagram
Quick Links
  • About Us
  • AKIP
  • Board of Management
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
Quick Links
  • Our Programs
  • Program Rates
  • From GM’s Desk
  • Live TV

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

© 2022 Anglican Cable Network Nigeria,Abuja. Designed by Dominion Web.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.