Latest Ogoni news covering current happenings in Ogoniland. Get recent updates on Ogoni UNEP report, Ogoni clean up and latest updates on MOSOP and related Ogoni news
19 OCT
Foreign Experts Hail Ogoni’s Suit against Shell in The Netherlands
Foreign experts have described as a major landmark, the suit filed by Ogoni people against the Dutch oil company, Shell, in Netherlands last week by farmers in the host oil community. Shell was dragged to court in The Hague, Netherlands, by four Nigerian farmers from Ogoni in Rivers State in collaboration with environmental campaigners, Friends of the Earth. The farmers said they could no longer work or feed their families because oil spills caused by Shell in the area have damaged crops and fish farms.
Commenting on the suit, an environmental law expert, Professor Jonathan Verschuuren, of the Netherlands’ Tilburg University, said: “It was a really important case, if (the claimants) are successful. It is a big step in cases where Western multinationals commit acts that cause pollution. Up until now, you had to go through a developing country’s courts,” he said.
The plaintiffs, according to Friends of the Earth, Netherlands, opted to drag Shell before a Dutch court because they were said to have lacked confidence in Nigerian courts as hundreds of legal cases allegedly brought by victims of oil pollution have become “stranded in the inefficient and corrupt Nigerian legal system.”
The NGO added: “Furthermore, the verdicts are often not or inadequately carried out and the damages awarded – if they are paid – are far from sufficient.”
Senior Campaigner for Friends of the Earth, Netherlands, Evert Hessink, explained why the case was taken to The Netherlands: “We have more confidence in the Dutch system,” he said.
The group also said it took the case to The Netherlands so that Shell’s headquarters could be held accountable for the actions of its subsidiaries. “It’s not about whether the headquarters know every detail. It is about whether senior managers and executives of a well-organised international company were aware of the problem and were able to instruct their company,” Hessink added.
“When it’s clear that this is a possibility, many others from Nigeria, or other countries that have issues with Dutch or European companies, can take this route,” he added.
Join other Ogonis to discuss pressing environmental issues, Bori state creation, UNEP REPORT, Ogoni land grab and a whole lot of other interesting topics. You can even include your own topic for discussions. All are welcome to join the forum. Make friends with other Ogonis and join interesting groups including all the Ogoni 6 kingdoms, Bori residents, Port Harcourt residents, RIVPOLY, UNIPORT AND RSUST student groups. To join the forum, please click on the ”register” button at the top right of the homepage. Join Ogoni Online Forum today(http://forum.huraclub.org/)……………….HURAC
HURAC is a club instituted by the Movement For the Survival of the Ogoni People, which is open to all secondary schools within and outside Ogoni and also to all intending members. It`s currently operating in Riv-Poly secondary school, its division HQTRS, and also in CSS Bori, ACGS Bori, BMGS Bori and some Portharcourt schools. It has Kate, Wisdom Deebeke as its pioneer Senior Chief Co-ordinator. It was inaugurated in Riv-Poly by the INTELLECTUAL ELITE BATCH, with Tuaka Jeremiah as the appointed Chairman as at then. It aims at educating members and the public on their fundamental human rights, human rights advocacy, human rights abuses and campaign, etc. To learn more about HURAC, please go to http://huraclub.org/.
