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Abdulrahman Hamisu,
University of Abuja
A top court in The Hague has rejected a bid by a group of Nigerian farmers to hold Shell responsible for damaging the environment as the result of a series of oil leaks in the Niger Delta.
The court said only Shell’s subsidiary in Nigeria is responsible for one of the leaks, and granted an unspecified amount in damages to only one farmer.
The Court dismissed all other claims against Shell on grounds that according to the Nigerian Law a parent company in principle is not obliged to prevent its subsidiaries abroad. Experts say the judgment was not a surprise.
The Niger Delta farmers went to court in 2008, demanding for Shell to be held responsible for oil spills in their communities and pay compensations for the damage that this has done to their communities.
They also demanded the court order Shell to fix its pipelines to end oil spills and accordingly clean up the contaminated areas.
Shell has been operating in Nigeria for decades. The oil company, according to experts, has mastered the Nigerian political terrain and some of its people are serving in strategic government positions.
People who live in the Niger Delta say their land, water and fisheries have been damaged for years by oil pollution for which Shell is responsible. They have now been joined by activists who say Shell must do more to make sure its operations do not harm the environment in the Niger Delta, just like elsewhere in the world.
Also See:
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Shell Destroying Nigeria
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Investigations of Shell’s Nigeria Spills a Fiasco
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