THE NATION

Dutch Court of Appeal on Friday ordered the Nigerian subsidiary of Shell to pay compensation to four Bayelsa State farmers over oil spills in the state.

The appellate court in The Hague ruled that the Nigerian arm of the British-Dutch company should compensate the four farmers and clean up pollution from the leaking oil pipelines.

Four farmers from Oruma in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa had dragged Shell to a Dutch court over a 2008 oil spill that adversely impacted their farms.

In a reaction to the judgment, the Environmental Right Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) applauded the decision of the court in favour of the four farmers.

Executive Director at ERA/FoEN, Mr Chima Williams, said the verdict was a relief to the environmental rights movement.

He stated: “Today’s decisions will determine whether or not transnational companies will be obliged to respond in a swift and positive way when environmental complaints are made from their host country.

“This case has taken so long that two claimants are no longer alive. But the problems caused by the immense oil spill from Shell’s pipelines have still not been resolved after 13 years. It hurts that this can happen.

“The court has set a new standard that will give hope to ordinary citizens that no matter how powerful a company is, there will always be a day of reckoning.”

But Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) said it was disappointed by the verdict, insisting that the incident in question was caused by sabotage.

Media Relations Manager of SPDC, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, said in a statement on Friday that most leaks from its operations were caused by suspected vandals.

He said: “We continue to believe that the spills in Oruma and Goi were the result of sabotage. We are therefore disappointed that this court has made a different finding on the cause of these spills and in its finding that SPDC is liable.

“Sabotage, crude oil theft and illegal refining are a major challenge in the Niger Delta. Indeed in 2019, around 95 per cent of spill incidents from our operations there were due to such criminal acts.

“Regardless of cause, we clean up and remediate, as we have done with the spills in this case.

“SPDC also works with a range of stakeholders to find solutions to these complex issues. Like all Shell-operated ventures globally, we are committed to operating safely and protecting the local environment.”