Oil spill: Niger Delta farmers hail court victory against Shell,

By Marlikberry,

Farmers from Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers States, have hailed the judiciary for remaining the hope of the common man.

The farmers commended the ruling of the Dutch Appeal Court sitting in Hague, yesterday, which ordered Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to pay compensation to them following the devastation of their farmlands through oil exploitation.

Milieudefensie, the Dutch branch of Friends of The Earth, had in 2008 filed a lawsuit on behalf of the farmers against Shell following oil spills that destroyed their farmlands and other properties in Ikot Ada Udo community in Akwa Ibom State, Oruma community in Bayelsa State and Goi community in Rivers State.

The farmers, which include Princewill Alali Efanga, Chief Eric Barizaa Dooh, Elder Friday Alfred Akpan and Chief Felix Oguru, had urged the court to order Royal Dutch Shell to mandate its subsidiary, SPDC, to remediate and recover the environment that was destroyed by its facilities.