Protesters in London and in Nigeria’s Niger Delta came out yesterday to air their grievances during the trial at the Royal Courts of Justice at London’s The Strand against the oil company Shell.
The trial was brought to the UK courts by the Ogoni communities Bille and Ogale in the Niger Delta whose lives have been devastated by oil spills. They called on Shell to take responsibility for the environmental damage caused by the spills.
Nigerian residents take Shell to UK High court following 10-year fight for justice
In a report about the case from French news channel France 24, a traditional ruler in one of the affected communities Godwin Bebe Okpabi lamented: “Shell has polluted our land, destroyed our way of life, taking us from courthouses to courthouses, spending billions of pounds, just to stay away from being responsible for the atrocities they have caused us.
The communities called on Shell to ramp up the clean up of their land and waterways and compensate the families affected by the spills. Shell continues to claim that the spills were caused by pipeline vandalism, oil theft and the malicious acts of third parties.
The trial continues.
