Energy giant Shell to pay 15 million euros to Nigerian farmers

After a 13-year-long legal battle, energy giant Shell has said it will pay 15 million euros to Nigerian farmers for the damages caused by its pipeline leaks over the last few years.

This is coming a year after the Court of Appeal of the Hague ruled on January 29, 2021, that the company must pay for a series of leaks and install new equipment.

On December 23, 2022, Shell reached a consensus with Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie which was helping the affected communities of Oruma, Goi and Ikot Ada Udo in Nigeria, which were impacted by four oil spills between 2004 and 2007.

The company is supposed to install a leak detection system on 20 pipeline segments. The oil firm maintained that the agreement “is on a no admission of liability basis, and settles all claims and ends all pending litigation related to the spills”.

The Niger river delta is a major oil producing region. Four farmers had taken the case to the Dutch courts in 2008, demanding that Shell — whose headquarters were then in The Hague — pay for cleaning spills in this belt which had severely polluted three villages.

The battle lasted for so long that the people who sued have died, but their survivors and affected communities kept pushing through the hurdles.

The decision to allow Shell plc, formerly known as Royal Dutch Shell plc, to be sued set a precedent as it was the first time the Dutch parent company was sued in its home country for the actions of its foreign subsidiary, SPDC (Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria). Environmental lawyer Chima Williams is the 2022 Africa Goldman Prize winner for his efforts in holding oil giant Shell accountable for oil spills.