This should be the beginning of bigger and better things to come in holding corporations accountable for environmental damage and for putting super profits before human beings and the environment especially in resource rich Africa.
By Ivana Sekularacand Anthony Deutsch
THE HAGUE | Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:06am ESTTHE HAGUE (Reuters)
A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that Royal Dutch Shell'sNigerian subsidiary was responsible for a case of oil pollution in the NigerDelta and ordered it to pay damages in a decision that could open the door tofurther litigation.The district court in The Hague said ShellPetroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd. (SPDC), a wholly-ownedsubsidiary, must compensate one farmer, but dismissed four other claims filedagainst the Dutch parent company.Four Nigerians and campaign group Friends of theEarth filed suits in 2008 in The Hague, where Shell has its globalheadquarters, seeking reparations for lost income from contaminated land andwaterways in the Niger Delta region, the heart of the Nigerian oil industry.The case was seen by environmental activists as atest for holding multinationals responsible for offences at foreignsubsidiaries, and legal experts said other Nigerians affected by pollutionmight now be able to sue in the Netherlands.Shell said the case would not set a precedent becauseits parent company was not held responsible.The farmer who won compensation, 52-year-old fatherof 12 Friday Akpan, said he was very happy with the judgment because it wouldallow him to repay his debts."I am not surprised at the decision because therewas divine intervention in the court. The spill damaged 47 fishingponds, killed all the fish and rendered the ponds useless," he toldReuters in the Niger Delta city of Port Harcourt."Since then I have been living by God's graceand on the help of good Samaritans. I think this will be a lesson for Shell andthey will know not to damage people's livelihoods."
NEW AVENUES
A legal expert said the ruling could make itpossible for other Nigerians who say they also suffered losses due to Shell'sactivities to file lawsuits in the Netherlands."The fact that a subsidiary has been heldresponsible by a Dutch court is new and opens new avenues," said MennoKamminga, professor of international law at Maastricht University.The court did not just examine the role of theparent company, but also looked "at abuses committed by Shell Nigeria,where the link with the Netherlands is extremely limited," he said."That's a real breakthrough."Friends of the Earth spokesman Geert Ritsema saidthey would appeal against the acquittals "because there is still a lot ofoil lying around. These sites need to be cleaned."Ritsema said hundreds of other Nigerians in thevillage of Icot Ada Udo, where farmer Friday Akpan lives, can now take similarlegal action.The court backed Shell's argument that the spillswere caused by sabotage and not poor maintenance of its facilities, as had beenargued by the Nigerians.Ritsema said it was also new that an oil companywas being held responsible for failing to prevent sabotage.There were 198 oil spills at Shell facilities inthe Niger Delta last year, releasing around 26,000 barrels of oil, according todata from the company. The firm says 161 of these spills were caused bysabotage or theft, while 37 incidents were caused by operational failure. Localcommunities say Shell under reports the amount of barrels spilled.People who live in the Niger Delta say their land,water and fisheries have been blighted for years by oil pollution and activistshave called for oil companies in Nigeria to be held to the same standard aselsewhere in the world.Shell is facing ongoing legal action brought in aUK court on behalf of 11,000 members of the Niger Delta Bodo community, who saythe company is responsible for spilling 500,000 barrels in 2008. Shell hasadmitted liability for two spills in the Bodo region but estimates the amountspilled is far lower. Bodo's case could be heard in the High Court in Londonnext year.
A United Nationsreport in 2011 on the Ogoniland region in the Niger Delta criticized Shell andother multinationals, and the Nigerian government, for 50 years of oilpollution.It said Ogoniland, where Shell no longer operates,needed the world's biggest-ever oil clean-up, which would take 25 years andcost an initial $1 billion.A decade of militancy by armed groups in the NigerDelta, which had its origins in local anger over oil pollution, shut downnearly half of Nigeria's oil output until an amnesty in 2009. The Niger Deltais home to about 31 million people.
COMPENSATION TO BE NEGOTIATED
"We will pay compensation. We didn't lose thecase. It was not operational failure. The leak was the consequence ofsabotage," Royal Dutch Shell's vice president for environment, AllardCastelein, said in comments after the verdict was read."Shell Nigeria should and could have preventedthis sabotage in an easy way," the court ruling said. "This is whythe district court has sentenced Shell Nigeria to pay damages to the Nigerianplaintiff."Castelein said Shell would negotiate the amount ofdamages with the farmer, but that an appeal could postpone the outcome of thosetalks.The Nigerians - fishermen and farmers - said theycould no longer feed their families because the region had been polluted by oilfrom Shell's pipelines and production facilities.The pollution is a result of oil spills in 2004,2005 and 2007, they said.It is the first time a Dutch-registered company hasbeen sued in a domestic court for offences alleged to have been carried out bya foreign subsidiary.The suit targeted Shell's parent company in theNetherlands and its Nigerian subsidiary, which operates a joint venture betweenthe Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Shell, Total E&P NigeriaLimited and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited.Shell Nigeria is the largest oil and gas company inNigeria, Africa's top energy producer, with an output of more than 1 millionbarrels of oil or equivalent per day.In October, Shell lawyers said the company hasplayed its part in cleaning up the Delta, which accounts for more than 50percent of Nigeria's oil exports.(Additional reporting by Joe Brock in Abuja, TifeOwolabi in Port Harcourt, Thomas Escritt in Amsterdam and Andrew Callus inLondon; Editing by Giles Elgood)
By Ivana Sekularacand Anthony Deutsch
THE HAGUE | Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:06am ESTTHE HAGUE (Reuters)
A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that Royal Dutch Shell'sNigerian subsidiary was responsible for a case of oil pollution in the NigerDelta and ordered it to pay damages in a decision that could open the door tofurther litigation.The district court in The Hague said ShellPetroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd. (SPDC), a wholly-ownedsubsidiary, must compensate one farmer, but dismissed four other claims filedagainst the Dutch parent company.Four Nigerians and campaign group Friends of theEarth filed suits in 2008 in The Hague, where Shell has its globalheadquarters, seeking reparations for lost income from contaminated land andwaterways in the Niger Delta region, the heart of the Nigerian oil industry.The case was seen by environmental activists as atest for holding multinationals responsible for offences at foreignsubsidiaries, and legal experts said other Nigerians affected by pollutionmight now be able to sue in the Netherlands.Shell said the case would not set a precedent becauseits parent company was not held responsible.The farmer who won compensation, 52-year-old fatherof 12 Friday Akpan, said he was very happy with the judgment because it wouldallow him to repay his debts."I am not surprised at the decision because therewas divine intervention in the court. The spill damaged 47 fishingponds, killed all the fish and rendered the ponds useless," he toldReuters in the Niger Delta city of Port Harcourt."Since then I have been living by God's graceand on the help of good Samaritans. I think this will be a lesson for Shell andthey will know not to damage people's livelihoods."
NEW AVENUES
A legal expert said the ruling could make itpossible for other Nigerians who say they also suffered losses due to Shell'sactivities to file lawsuits in the Netherlands."The fact that a subsidiary has been heldresponsible by a Dutch court is new and opens new avenues," said MennoKamminga, professor of international law at Maastricht University.The court did not just examine the role of theparent company, but also looked "at abuses committed by Shell Nigeria,where the link with the Netherlands is extremely limited," he said."That's a real breakthrough."Friends of the Earth spokesman Geert Ritsema saidthey would appeal against the acquittals "because there is still a lot ofoil lying around. These sites need to be cleaned."Ritsema said hundreds of other Nigerians in thevillage of Icot Ada Udo, where farmer Friday Akpan lives, can now take similarlegal action.The court backed Shell's argument that the spillswere caused by sabotage and not poor maintenance of its facilities, as had beenargued by the Nigerians.Ritsema said it was also new that an oil companywas being held responsible for failing to prevent sabotage.There were 198 oil spills at Shell facilities inthe Niger Delta last year, releasing around 26,000 barrels of oil, according todata from the company. The firm says 161 of these spills were caused bysabotage or theft, while 37 incidents were caused by operational failure. Localcommunities say Shell under reports the amount of barrels spilled.People who live in the Niger Delta say their land,water and fisheries have been blighted for years by oil pollution and activistshave called for oil companies in Nigeria to be held to the same standard aselsewhere in the world.Shell is facing ongoing legal action brought in aUK court on behalf of 11,000 members of the Niger Delta Bodo community, who saythe company is responsible for spilling 500,000 barrels in 2008. Shell hasadmitted liability for two spills in the Bodo region but estimates the amountspilled is far lower. Bodo's case could be heard in the High Court in Londonnext year.
A United Nationsreport in 2011 on the Ogoniland region in the Niger Delta criticized Shell andother multinationals, and the Nigerian government, for 50 years of oilpollution.It said Ogoniland, where Shell no longer operates,needed the world's biggest-ever oil clean-up, which would take 25 years andcost an initial $1 billion.A decade of militancy by armed groups in the NigerDelta, which had its origins in local anger over oil pollution, shut downnearly half of Nigeria's oil output until an amnesty in 2009. The Niger Deltais home to about 31 million people.
COMPENSATION TO BE NEGOTIATED
"We will pay compensation. We didn't lose thecase. It was not operational failure. The leak was the consequence ofsabotage," Royal Dutch Shell's vice president for environment, AllardCastelein, said in comments after the verdict was read."Shell Nigeria should and could have preventedthis sabotage in an easy way," the court ruling said. "This is whythe district court has sentenced Shell Nigeria to pay damages to the Nigerianplaintiff."Castelein said Shell would negotiate the amount ofdamages with the farmer, but that an appeal could postpone the outcome of thosetalks.The Nigerians - fishermen and farmers - said theycould no longer feed their families because the region had been polluted by oilfrom Shell's pipelines and production facilities.The pollution is a result of oil spills in 2004,2005 and 2007, they said.It is the first time a Dutch-registered company hasbeen sued in a domestic court for offences alleged to have been carried out bya foreign subsidiary.The suit targeted Shell's parent company in theNetherlands and its Nigerian subsidiary, which operates a joint venture betweenthe Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Shell, Total E&P NigeriaLimited and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited.Shell Nigeria is the largest oil and gas company inNigeria, Africa's top energy producer, with an output of more than 1 millionbarrels of oil or equivalent per day.In October, Shell lawyers said the company hasplayed its part in cleaning up the Delta, which accounts for more than 50percent of Nigeria's oil exports.(Additional reporting by Joe Brock in Abuja, TifeOwolabi in Port Harcourt, Thomas Escritt in Amsterdam and Andrew Callus inLondon; Editing by Giles Elgood)
