A UK High Court yesterday ruled that two Niger Delta communities devastated by oil spills cannot pursue their case against Shell in the United Kingdom for oil spills that occurred in Nigeria.

The court ruled that Royal Dutch Shell could not be held responsible for the actions of its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).

But in its reaction to the ruling, Amnesty International said it could rob the communities of justice and allow UK multinationals to commit abuses overseas with impunity.

“The Ogale and Bille communities have been hit by multiple Shell spills, threatening their health and drinking water. The UN found groundwater contamination in Ogale was more than 450 times the legal limit – when Amnesty investigators went back four years later, Shell still hadn’t cleaned up the pollution.

“This ruling could mean that the communities will never receive meaningful compensation, and that the oil spills will not be properly cleaned up,” said Campaigner on Business and Human Rights at Amnesty International, Joe Westby.

Westby stated that the ruling set an especially dangerous precedent, adding that if it stands, then the UK courts have given free rein to multinational companies based in the UK to abuse human rights overseas.

He argued that this was a deeply depressing reminder of the impunity enjoyed by powerful corporations, and a blow to other communities in the Niger Delta that are still awaiting justice.

“We hope and expect that the court of appeal will overturn this decision to show that the UK justice system will provide remedy to impoverished communities who suffer serious abuse caused by UK corporations,” Westby added.

Two Nigerian communities brought separate legal actions against Royal Dutch Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary in 2016.

The first claim was brought on behalf of 2,335 people from the Bille Kingdom, a fishing community whose environment has been devastated by oil spills over the past five years.

The second claim was on behalf of the Ogale Community in Ogoniland, which consists of around 40,000 people.

Shell had disputed the jurisdiction of the UK court, and argued that the case concerned Nigerian plaintiffs and a Nigerian company.

In his ruling, the judge struck out the claims against Royal Dutch Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary, but gave the communities permission to file an appeal.

Amnesty heavily criticised the ruling, saying that the judge’s decision was blatantly at odds with how multinationals like Shell work in today’s globalised world.

Amnesty also noted that communities affected by oil spills in Nigeria are usually forced to negotiate directly with the company and are at a huge disadvantage, which invariably means they are cheated.

Shell has always maintained that over 80 per cent of oil spills in its operations in the Niger Delta are caused by sabotage, while equipment failure and aging pipelines account for the balance, Amnesty said.

“For rural communities taking a claim to the Nigeria courts is extremely difficult because only federal courts can deal with oil cases and few lawyers are willing to take on the major oil companies.

“The rare cases that do make it to court languish for years in the Nigerian justice system with no resolution,” the rights group added.

In January 2015, a UK law firm won a landmark settlement agreement from COMPLETE THE STORY HERE http://kleeqers.com/forum/politics/3124-n-delta-villagers-can-t-sue-shell-in-uk-for-nigerian-oil-spill-court-rules

This is serious.

When dem dey bomb dem MO know abi?

take the case to Yankee

Avengers where are you?

But they can jail Ibori for activities carried out in Delta state