To make up for the harm that four Nigerian farmers and their communities claim was brought on by pollution from Shell’s oil pipeline breaches, Shell has agreed to pay them $16 million (£13 million).
The oil firm and the environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth agreed on the amount.
But according to a joint statement, it is being given with “no admission of liability.”
The oil sector in Nigeria has significantly harmed the environment.
The oil spills, in this instance, occurred between 2004 and 2007, and the payout comes after a Dutch court determined that the Nigerian unit of Shell was accountable for the damage last year.
The leaks, according to Shell, were caused by sabotage.
Until the beginning of this year, Shell’s headquarters were in the Netherlands. Activists lauded the 2021 court ruling as the first time a multinational had been held legally accountable for the actions of a subsidiary.
Because of this compensation, we can once again strengthen our community. We can begin investing again in the area where we live, “The case was brought in 2008 in conjunction with the Dutch chapter of Friends of the Earth, according to Eric Dooh, the son of one of the farmers.
Communities in Oruma, Goi, and Ikot Ada Udo will receive the funds.
According to environmental campaigners and rural populations in the Niger Delta region, this development is a milestone even though the compensation amount is insignificant, according to the BBC’s Ishaq Khalid.
Many people in the area continue to suffer health problems and loss of income due to oil pollution.
Barizaa Dooh, Friday the Elder Fidelis A. Chief Alfred Akpan. Oguru, and Alali Efanga, the four farmers who initiated the action, claimed that the contamination of land and waterways caused by subsurface oil pipeline breaches had cost them their livelihoods.
Since Mr. Efanga and Mr. Dooh passed away after initially filing the complaint, their sons took the case on.
The court order from last year mandated that Shell install a system for early leak detection in addition to compensating Shell. According to the joint statement from Shell and Friends of the Earth, this has now been installed.
