Communities in Nigeria affected by oil spills want Shell to address pollution concerns before selling assets in the country
Nigerian communities are demanding 505 billion naira ($310 million) in damages from British energy giant Shell for repeated oil spills in the Niger Delta region, Reuters has reported, citing court documents.
The outlet said on Friday that over 1,200 representatives from the Ilaje local government area had filed a complaint with the Federal High Court in the capital, Abuja, accusing Shell of violating an existing court order by striking a deal to sell its onshore assets in the Niger Delta.
The oil firm announced in January that it was selling its onshore assets in Africa’s most populous nation in a deal worth $2.4 billion. The sale to the Renaissance Group – a consortium of five companies – is intended to streamline the operations of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Shell said at the time.
Activists and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, expressed outrage over the move and urged the Nigerian government not to approve the sale until Shell addresses environmental damage concerns.
READ MORE: Oil giant quits onshore sector in Africa’s largest economy
The British corporation has been operating in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, for over 80 years, weathering multiple controversies and environmental disasters, having pioneered the country’s oil and gas industry since 1937. Thousands of locals have filed complaints, demanding compensation from the London-based energy giant for disrupting their livelihoods due to pollution from multiple spills.
Late last year, the UK High Court ruled that more than 13,000 farmers and fishers from the oil-producing communities of Ogale and Bille could sue the company for violating their constitutional right to a clean environment.
Shell has denied responsibility, blaming most of the leaks on pipeline sabotage and illegal crude oil extraction.
In the latest lawsuit, a group of communities in Ilaje, located in Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria, have reportedly asked the Abuja court to halt the energy giant’s asset sale until a compensation dispute is resolved.
According to court papers cited by Reuters, they are pleading with judges to penalize Shell for proceeding with the deal “when the plaintiffs and the host of their community members have remained in perpetual suffering over the failure of the defendants to obey the preservative orders of a competent court.”
Locals in the coastal state have been at odds with the British corporation for more than a decade. In 2015, they accused Shell of excluding them from negotiations and compensation agreements reached with other communities affected by a spillage from the Bonga oil field in 2011.
https://www.rt.com/africa/604130-nigerians-sue-british-oil-giant-shell/
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
