Nigerian farmers and their communities will receive €15 million in compensation for oil pollution in their villages. A leak in Shell pipelines caused the breakdown. As a result of oil pollution, infant mortality in the Niger Delta is twice that of the rest of the country.
Namely, in 2008, farmers and fishermen jointly initiated court proceedings against Shell’s headquarters in The Hague due to oil pollution on their land. The pollution occurred between 2004 and 2007 in the villages of Oruma, Goi and Ikot Ada Udo in Nigeria.
This case is unprecedented: for the first time in history, a company’s headquarters was held responsible for the actions of its subsidiary in another country. Shell has resisted the claim for years, insisting the case should be heard in a Nigerian court. The Dutch court rejected these claims and established its jurisdiction.
The court also ordered Shell to take measures to prevent further spills by installing a leak detection system near Oruma.
The photography is taken from the site Friends of the Earth Europe.