News
Dutch Court Orders Shell To Pay Rivers, Bayelsa Farmers Over Oil Spills
A Dutch court has ordered the Nigerian subsidiary of Shell to pay compensation over oil spills in the Niger Delta, a ruling which could pave the way for more cases against multinational oil firms.
The Court of Appeal in The Hague, on Friday, ruled that the Nigerian arm of the British-Dutch company must issue payouts over a long-running civil case involving four Nigerian farmers who were seeking compensation, and a clean-up, from the company over pollution caused by leaking oil pipelines.
This is sequel to a matter instituted in the Netherlands by four fishermen from the impacted villages of Ikot Ada Udo, in Akwa Ibom State; Goi, Gokana Local Government Area in Rivers State; and Oruma, Ogbia Local Government Area in Bayelsa State.
Two separate oil spills from a Shell facility occurred in 2004 and 2008, polluting several fishing communities in the Niger Delta.
In the case, “four fishermen/farmers and Milieudefensie vs. Royal Dutch Shell and Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited”, relief sought included a declaration of Shell’s liability to the spills and destruction of fishponds being the source of income for the litigants.
It was, however, silent on the case of Ikot Ada Udo, in Akwa Ibom State, because of what it called “unclarity of the facts”.
The judgement, which was monitored virtually from Port Harcourt, has finally come after 13 years of painstaking litigation instituted by farmers in Goi community in Ogoni, Rivers State; and Oruma community in Ogbia, Bayelsa State, who took Royal Dutch Shell to court in 2008.
The farmers sought the intervention of the court after several failed attempts to bring Shell to book in Nigerian courts.
The communities also sought a declaratory judgement for clean-up and payment of compensation for loss of fishing ponds, income and livelihoods, and preventive measures to stop oil spills from Shell’s aged pipelines from destroying their farmlands and fishponds in the future.
In its judgment, the court held Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC, liable for two leaks that spewed oil over an area of a total of about 60 football pitches in two villages, saying that it could not be established “beyond a reasonable doubt” that saboteurs were to blame.
The Hague Appeals Court ruled that sabotage was to blame for an oil leak in another village.
However, it said that the issue of whether Shell can be held liable “remains open” and the case will be continued as the court wants clarification about the extent of the pollution and whether it still has to be cleaned up.
Under Nigerian law, which was applied in the Dutch civil case, the company is not liable if the leaks were the result of sabotage.
“Shell Nigeria is sentenced to compensate farmers for damages,” the court said in its ruling, which can be appealed via the Dutch Supreme Court.
The amount of compensation will be established at a later date. The court did not specify how many of the four farmers would receive compensation.
The court did not hold Shell’s parent company, which is based in the Netherlands, directly responsible.
However, it ruled that Shell’s parent company and its Nigerian subsidiary must fit a leak-detection system to a pipeline that caused one of the spills.
An activist said the verdict would be greeted with “relief and joy” by farmers in Nigeria and could “open the floodgates” for many other similar cases.
“Hundreds of people have queued up to sue Shell for contaminating the Niger Delta,” the activist said, citing cases brought against Shell in the UK and the Netherlands.
“I spoke to an activist a short while ago who said, ‘This is just the beginning’, and a lot of analysts also believe [the ruling] will open the floodgates to so many litigations against oil production companies that have been operating in Nigeria.”
The case was initiated in 2008 by the farmers and the Friends of the Earth campaign group, who were seeking reparations for lost income from contaminated land and waterways in the Niger Delta region, the heart of the Nigerian oil industry.
The spills concerned were between 2004 and 2007, but pollution from leaking oil pipelines remains a big problem in the Niger Delta.
“Tears of joy here. After 13 years, we’ve won,” the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth tweeted following Friday’s ruling.
The head of the NGO’s Dutch branch, Donald Pols described the court’s decision as “fantastic news for the environment and people living in developing countries.
“It means people in developing countries can take on the multinationals who do them harm,” he said.
Shell argued that saboteurs were responsible for leaks in underground oil pipes that have polluted the delta.
The company also argued that it should not be held legally responsible in the Netherlands for the actions of a foreign subsidiary, meaning Shell Nigeria.
After the ruling, Shell said it continues to believe the spills were caused by sabotage, adding it was dismayed that its Nigerian subsidy – the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) – was judged to be culpable.
“We are … disappointed that this court has made a different finding on the cause of these spills and in its finding that SPDC is liable,” the company said in a statement.
The Nigerian subsidiary added: “Like all Shell-operated ventures globally, we are committed to operating safely and protecting the local environment.”
Chima Williams of Friends of the Earth Nigeria ( Environmental Rights Action), says, “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 judgment today 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.”
Donald Pols of Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) said:
“After almost 13 years, we now know that Nigerians will finally receive justice and Shell will not succeeded in completely shirking its responsibility for the pollution. “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.
“This victory has heralded the beginning of a new era in which large multinationals such as Shell can no longer go about their business lawlessly but are accountable for their entire operations, including overseas.”
Channa Samkalden, lawyer for the Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, adds:
“What we have already achieved in all these years of litigation is that Dutch companies are being held accountable for their behaviour abroad.
“The fact that Friends of the Earth Netherlands and the Nigerian claimants succeeded in this is in itself groundbreaking. It is now a matter of waiting to see how the court rules on the liability of both parent company, Shell (RDS) and the subsidiary in Nigeria (SPDC).
Shell discovered and started exploiting Nigeria’s vast oil reserves in the late 1950s and has faced heavy criticism from activists and local communities overspills and for the company’s close ties to government security forces.
Friends of the Earth, which has supported the Nigerian farmers in their legal battle, argues that leaking pipes are caused by poor maintenance and inadequate security and that Shell does not do enough to clean up spills.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has cautioned parents to closely monitor their children’s craving for cookies and gummies, warning that some of the products may contain illicit substances being smuggled into the country.
In a statement posted yesterday, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said recent seizures by the agency’s officers had revealed attempts by criminal elements to introduce prohibited substances under the guise of everyday snacks.
“As parents, if your kids and young ones always crave for cookies and gummies, you may have to pay a little more attention. There may be more to it than ordinary cookies and gummies,” Babafemi wrote, sharing images of seized packages.
The photos showed colourful pouches of “Cookies Delta 8 Gummies” in flavours such as Hawaiian Rain Pineapple Guava and Thai Mango, labelled as vegan and hemp-derived, alongside the actual gummy products.
The warning comes amid a major interception by the Nigeria Customs Service at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos.
Officers seized two 40-foot containers containing large quantities of cannabis-infused products concealed among legitimate imports such as used vehicles, generators, batteries and fabrics.
The consignment included thousands of Delta-8 cannabis pre-roll cookies, packs of cannabis-infused gummies and other cannabis-infused cookies, with a combined estimated street value of about ?373.8m.
The items were subsequently handed over to the NDLEA.
NDLEA officials described the products, which originated from the United States and were packaged to resemble ordinary vegan snacks with appealing flavours, as an emerging public health threat.
They noted that the attractive packaging could appeal especially to children, students and young people, raising the risk of accidental consumption of concentrated cannabis.
The Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) has announced plans to partner with the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) to strengthen efforts at combating illegal waste dumping and improving environmental sanitation across the state.
The partnership was unveiled during a meeting between officials of RIWAMA and the leadership of the Rivers State chapter of the PCRC in Port Harcourt, recently, where both organisations pledged to work together to restore the Garden City status of the state capital.
In his speech, the Supervisor of Market and Community Sanitation in RIWAMA, Mr. Omereji Ukoha, said the collaboration was in line with the vision of the agency’s Managing Director, Dr. Ibimina Wokoma, and the Board Chairman, Dr. Samuel Nwanosike, to promote a cleaner and healthier environment.
Ukoha described the PCRC as a strategic grassroots partner capable of mobilising communities and driving behavioural change through sustained public enlightenment on proper waste disposal.
He expressed concern over the increasing rate of indiscriminate refuse dumping in parts of Port Harcourt, particularly in New GRA, where blocked drainage channels and illegal shanties have continued to contribute to flooding and environmental degradation.
According to him, the agency is determined to intensify enforcement against environmental offenders, warning that unregistered cart pushers and residents who patronise them would be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of the RIWAMA Act, 2014.
The RIWAMA official urged residents to embrace proper waste disposal practices and patronise only government-approved waste operators in order to safeguard public health and protect the environment.
Responding, the Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee in Rivers State, Dr. Voke Emore, commended RIWAMA for seeking collaboration with the committee in addressing environmental challenges confronting the state.
Emore said the PCRC would deploy its community-based structures across the state to support public sensitisation and encourage residents to comply with environmental sanitation regulations.
He also called on local government councils to play more active roles in waste management, noting that they collect sanitation levies and should complement the efforts of the state government in maintaining a clean environment.
The PCRC chairman described indiscriminate refuse disposal as a serious environmental and public health concern, stressing that sustained collaboration among government agencies, community leaders and residents remained critical to achieving lasting sanitation goals.
Both organisations expressed optimism that the partnership would promote cleaner communities, reduce environmental hazards and strengthen public participation in efforts to ensure a healthier and more sustainable environment for the people of Rivers State.
King Onunwor
The Rivers State Police Command has arrested five suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate allegedly terrorising communities in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the State.
The State Police Command disclosed this in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, ASP Blessing Agabe, in Port Harcourt, recently.
The suspects were arrested during a coordinated operation at Oyigbo, following directives by the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, CP Olugbenga Adewole Adepoju.
Those arrested were Ezekiel Emmanuel, 44, from Benue State; Chukwuma Mbanefor, 51, from Anambra State; Nicholas Diala, 65, from Imo State; Ndubuisi Uwakwe, 49, from Abia State; and Ifeanyi Nwakwo, 51, from Imo State.
The Command said the arrest represented another significant operational success in its ongoing efforts to dismantle criminal networks operating in the State.
According to the Police, preliminary investigation indicated that the suspects were allegedly involved in kidnapping operations within Rivers State.
The suspects, during interrogation, allegedly confessed to their involvement in kidnapping and further admitted participating in several operations carried out in Kom-Kom, Railway, Obeama and Afam communities.
The Command said investigation was ongoing, with efforts intensified to identify and apprehend other members of the suspected syndicate who may be connected with the criminal activities.
The Police boss said the operation reflected the implementation of operational directives and the intelligence-driven policing strategy of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, psc, NPM.
Adepoju reaffirmed the Command’s determination to sustain aggressive intelligence-led operations against kidnapping, cultism, armed robbery and other violent crimes across Rivers State.
He warned kidnappers and other criminal elements operating in the State that there would be no safe haven for them, stressing that the Command would relentlessly pursue, arrest and ensure that those found culpable were brought to justice.
The Commissioner further assured residents of the Command’s commitment to protecting lives and property, urging members of the public to remain vigilant and cooperate with security agencies in the fight against crime.
He appealed to residents to provide the Police with credible and timely information capable of assisting security operatives in preventing criminal activities and apprehending suspected criminals.
The Command urged members of the public who may have useful information on the activities of the suspected kidnapping syndicate or other criminal elements to contact the Police through its emergency lines, assuring that such information would assist ongoing investigations.
King Onunwor