Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Amnesty International has supported two Niger Delta Communities for taking Shell to court over damaged environments caused by oil spills.
The International body also charged the company to compensate Niger Delta Communities.
Amnesty International said this in a statement on Thursday, February 2, while reacting to the news that two Nigerian communities, which have been devastated by oil spills, have filed claims against Shell at the High Court in London.
Amnesty Internationals Head of Business and Human Rights Mark Dummett, said: More than 13,500 residents from the Ogale and Bille communities in the Niger Delta have now filed claims against Shell asking that the company clean up oil spills which they say have wrecked their livelihoods, poisoned their wells, and polluted their land and water, which means they can no longer farm or fish.
Amnesty stands by these two communities in the Niger Delta, which have been engaged in litigation against Shell for seven years, asking that the company clean up the damage caused and compensate them for their lost livelihoods.
Shell announced in 2021 that it plans to sell its onshore oilfields and assets in the Niger Delta after 60 years of highly profitable operations in the area. It is concerning that Shell has not explained how it plans to address the widespread and systemic pollution of Nigerian communities linked to its operations over many years before it sells up and leaves.
This case is now proceeding to trial to determine whether Shells parent company in London, as well as its Nigerian subsidiary the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), is legally responsible for the harm caused to the communities in Nigeria.
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Osai Ojigho, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, also said: Had this level of contamination and pollution occurred in Europe or North America, it is hard to imagine that there would not have been swift and severe consequences and legal redress. Shell should clean up the pollution the oil has caused in these communities and compensate those whose livelihoods have been devastated and whose health has been harmed.
NatureNews recalls that last week, over 13,000 residents from two Nigerian communities filed a suit seeking damages from Shell in the High Court in London and called for the energy giant to clean up residual oil and compensate devastating environmental damage.
The claim from 11,317 people and 17 institutions in the Niger Delta area of Ogale, a rural community of around 40,000 situated in Ogoniland, was filed last week, according to Leigh Day, the U.K. law firm representing the plaintiffs.
The action followed individual claims from 2,335 people in the smaller Nigerian community of Bille, which were submitted to the High Court in 2015.
The combined 13,652 claims are asking Shell to take responsibility for the loss of their livelihoods, saying their ability to farm and fish has largely been destroyed.
Daniel Leader, partner at Leigh Day, said the case raised important questions about Big Oil’s responsibilities over environmental damage overseas.
“It appears that Shell is seeking to leave the Niger Delta free of any legal obligation to address the environmental devastation caused by oil spills from its infrastructure over many decades,” Leader said.
“At a time when the world is focused on ‘the just transition,’ this raises profound questions about the responsibility of fossil fuel companies for legacy and ongoing environmental pollution.”
Reacting to this, Shell CEO Wael Sawan told CNBC on Thursday, “I would not respond to those claims. What I would
