The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and Amnesty International have in seperate statements hailed the judgemnt of an ECOWAS Court blaming the Nigerian government and oil firms for the pollution of the Niger Delta region.
The ruling came on Friday in a case instituted by Registered Trustees of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the Federal Government and six oil companies, over alleged violation of human rights and associated oil pollution in the Niger Delta.
Amnesty described the judgement as a key moment in holding governments and companies to account for pollution and was a crucial precedent that vindicates the human right to a healthy environment.
“This historic ruling affirms the human right of the Nigerian people to live a life free from pollution and makes clear that the government must hold the oil companies to account,” said Kolawole Olaniyan, a legal advisor for Amnesty International.
“Amnesty International joins the many Nigerian human rights activists in welcoming this decision and invites the government to identify the steps it will now take to make this judgment a reality.”
The Ogoni people in a statement signed by its media officer, Letom Sinen, welcomed the judgement describing it as “a decision that re-affirms what the Ogoni and the entire Niger Delta have known and sought to redress over the years”. MOSOP described the role of Shell in the Niger Delta as strangulating and urges urgent action to guarantee the future of the region which, according to the statement, is endangered by years of reckless oil exploration by multinationals including Shell Nigeria.
Source: OgoniNews
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