Oil Spillage: Demand accountability from oil companies, ERA/FoEN tells N’Delta communities

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), has called on communities in the Niger Delta, whose environments have been negatively impacted by oil exploration and exploitation activities, to demand full accountability from oil companies.

ERA/FoEN executive director, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP in Port Harcourt, said it was imperative that all impacted ecosystems across the country be cleaned and restored.

Ojo said: “ERA/FoEN call on communities in the Niger Delta region impacted by reckless oil extraction to demand full accountability from every oil company.

“As the short-lived age of oil comes to an end soon, it is imperative that all oil impacted ecosystems across the country should be cleaned, restored and adequate compensation paid to communities and individuals whose livelihoods were impacted.”

He stated that the consent judgement recently announced by the Federal High Court which reduced the indebtedness of Shell to the people of Ejama-Ebubu community in Eleme local government area of Rivers State, as a rip-off of the community by the multinational oil company.

The statement reads: “The consent judgement recently announced by the federal high court in which the indebtedness of Shell was drastically reviewed downwards to N45.7billion is a major dubious rip-off of the community by Shell.

“Shell continues the orchestrated strategy of Shell taking communities through long harrowing legal obstacles to deny them justice. It took 30 long years before Shell finally bowed to the will of the people and the dictates of justice.”