By Obiabin Onukwugha
Aggah community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers State, has filed an appeal against a recent judgment of the Ordinary Court of Milan, Italy, in their case against Eni S.p.A. and Oando Energy Resources Nigeria Limited, formerly known as Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).
The appeal followed the courts dismissal of the community’s claims for further environmental remediation and compensation over decades of flooding in the community caused by the defendants.
The appeal which is being filed by Egbema Voice of Freedom (EVF), Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), and Aggah community activist, Pastor Nicholas Evaristus Ukaonu, is challenging the decision of the court to ignore all evidences presented by the plantiffs in the matter.
The appellants are challenging the court’s interpretation of corporate responsibility, arguing that environmental remediation efforts should be assessed based on their effectiveness rather than mere technical compliance. They are also contesting the court’s position on representation and damages in cases involving widespread environmental harm.
They are also seeking the appeal to set aside the €180,000 legal cost awarded against the plantiffs by the court, in the judgement delivered on April 9, 2026.
The appellants described the decision of the court as “strange in the history of environment-related suits.”
The lawsuit stemmed from the companies’ failure to resolve chronic flooding in the Aggah community in Rivers State, despite commitments made under a 2019 Terms of Settlement (ToS) facilitated by Italy’s Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) National Contact Point.
The people of Aggah are of the Egbema ethnic nationality, that depend largely on subsistence farming and fishing for their livelihoods.
Italian energy giant Eni S.p.A. had drilled for oil in and around the town of Aggah which borders and overlaps the Mgbede oil field since the 1960s. In the early 1970s, a subsidiary of Eni known as Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd. (NAOC) created three 40,000 ft2 earthen embankments in three locations on the Mgbede oil field to support wellheads, and built raised access roads to connect them.
During the course of the litigation, Eni sold NAOC to Oando, a Nigerian oil company, which changed NAOC’s name to Oando Energy Resources Ltd Nigeria.
Community representatives argued that oil operations conducted by Eni around the Mgbede oil field since the 1960s significantly altered the area’s natural water right of way. “In the early 1970s, NAOC constructed three large earthen embankments and elevated access roads linking oil wellheads,” the appellants said.
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Residents say the recurring floods have destroyed farmlands, damaged homes, polluted water sources, disrupted livelihoods, and contributed to loss of lives over the years. The community, whose economy depends largely on subsistence farming and fishing, has long sought a permanent engineering solution to the problem.
Although the Milan Court affirmed its jurisdiction to hear cases involving overseas activities of Italian parent companies, it ruled that Eni and NAOC had fulfilled their obligations under the 2019 settlement by constructing 14 drainage channels and carrying out feasibility studies.
Evidence submitted before the Court, including the Final Flood Aggah Community Report, demonstrated that the flooding crisis is directly linked to oil infrastructure in the area.
“The report – in addition to internal company documents, a Nigerian civil judgment against Eni’s subsidiary, and the findings of the Rivers State Ministry of Environment – determined that access roads connected to Wells 11, 18, and 20 obstruct the natural flow of water and function effectively as dams, worsening flooding across the community,” the appellants said in reaction to the Milan judgment.
They said by finding that EVF had no right to assert claims for flood damage, the court avoided considering this overwhelming proof.
The court also ignored extensive evidence that the channels NAOC built were not functional and had not been designed to channel water away from the community. “By focusing on whether infrastructure was built rather than whether it actually solved the flooding, the Court adopted an approach disconnected from the realities faced by the people of Aggah,” Evangelist UBAS, a community member, stated.
“A settlement cannot be considered fulfilled when families remain underwater, livelihoods are destroyed, and environmental harm continues unabated.”
The court also dismissed claims for damages on the grounds that EVF lacked legal standing to seek compensation on behalf of approximately 1,900 affected residents.
According to the applelants, the evidence showed that access roads connected to Wells 11, 18, and 20 obstructed natural water channels and effectively functioned as dams, worsening flooding throughout the community. “By focusing on whether infrastructure was built rather than whether it actually solved the flooding, the Court adopted an approach disconnected from the realities faced by the people of Aggah,” the appellants said.
Pastor Nicholas Evaristus Ukaonu described the ruling as a difficult setback for the community but vowed to continue pursuing justice. “How can the judge ask the oppressed to pay €180,000 to the oppressor, who has taken our oil for more than 50 years and left us flooded for the same number of years and counting?” he lamented.
“This is a difficult moment for us as a community, but we are not deterred. We have gone to appeal regardless of the punitive cost,” he said.
As another rainy season approaches, community leaders maintain that Aggah residents remain vulnerable to recurring floods, unsafe water conditions, environmental degradation, and economic displacement.
The claimants reaffirmed their commitment to seeking justice for the community and securing a permanent and effective solution capable of restoring safety, dignity, and sustainable livelihoods for affected residents.
