High Court Stops About 42,000 Niger Deltans From Getting Compensation From Shell [see why]

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High Court Stops About 42,000 Niger Deltans From Getting Compensation From Shell [see why]

A London high court has rule that two communities in Niger Delta region, who were allegedly polluted by Shell cannot get any compensation from the oil company.

The two communities in the Niger Delta, Ogale and Bille allege that decades of oil spills have polluted their fishing waters and contaminated their farmland.

BBC AFRICA reported that the case against Shell was brought by two communities, Ogale and Bille. The law suit was brought by more than 2,000 fishermen and their families in the Bille kingdom, and another by about 40,000 people in the Ogale community in Ogoniland, in the oil-rich Niger delta.

The London High stated that the case against Royal Dutch Shell, and its subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, did not have the prospect of success and therefore could not proceed.

The court decided that the oil spill which affected 40,000 people should be heard in a Nigeria court and not a foreign court.

The lawyer of the two communities affected by the spill said they would appeal the ruling of the London High Court.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has won back ownership of OPL 245 which is considered the largest oil block in Africa with over 9 billion barrels of crude.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured a court order mandating the return of the oil block to the federal government.

The order was granted by Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court on Thursday, January 26 morning, pending “the conclusion of investigations…”