The management of Shell Nigeria has compensated residents of Bodo, a community in Niger Delta with the sum of 55 million Euros over oil spills that destroyed thousands of livelihoods in the area.
Audrey Gaughran, director, global issues, Amnesty International and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development, explained that a court order, which was obtained in the United Kingdom, UK, has driven Shell to make an out-of-court settlement of £55 million to compensate the affected community.
“The £55m will be split between £35m for 15,600 individuals and £20m for the community. While the pay-out is a long awaited victory for the thousands of residents, it shouldn’t have taken six years to get anything close to fair compensation,” he said.
He added that the compensation is a step towards justice for the people of Bodo, but insist that justice will be fully achieved when Shell properly cleans up the heavily polluted creeks and swamps so that those who rely on fishing and farming for their income can begin to rebuild their livelihoods.
“I am very happy that Shell has finally taken responsibility for its action,” says Christian Kpandei, a Bodo fish farmer, whose fish farm was destroyed by the oil spill.
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