CAFOD welcomes landmark court decision against polluting oil company

Gas flares Niger Delta - Wiki image

Source: CAFOD

Two Nigerian communities devastated by oil spills can bring legal claims for a clean up and compensation to an English court judges decided today.

In a statement CAFOD said: "We welcome today's landmark UK Supreme Court decision that Shell can finally face justice in the UK after decades of oil spills from its Nigerian subsidiary which have devastated the environment and livelihoods of the Ogale and Bille communities.

"British companies can no longer evade responsibility for the impacts of their subsidiaries and supply chains on people and planet."

CAFOD partner, Caritas Nigeria, said: "The recent court judgement has put smiles in the faces of many Niger Delta communities, who for many years have called for accountability and responsibility of oil exploration entities in the revamping of their environment that has been damaged by their actions.

"The judgement has opened the way for many such communities to seek redress against wrongs done their persons and land by greedy companies in search of maximum profit without an aorta of feelings for their host communities."

CAFOD's Private Sector Lead Analyst, Louise Eldridge, said: "Around the world, many more communities in the Global South are facing devastation to their land, water and forests, alongside the effects of climate change - driven by British businesses profiting from extracting fossil fuels and minerals from poorer countries.

It's clear that we need new legislation to clarify the responsibility of UK companies to protect the people and the environment that they take so much from - and to enable communities to get justice for the abuse they suffer.

The Government must also immediately end UK public money for fossil fuels industries overseas - in line with its recent policy commitment. It's unacceptable that UK aid money continues to support oil and gas companies in Nigeria and other countries around the world."

The Supreme Court judgment allows the case taken by nearly 50,000 Nigerian claimants to proceed in the UK courts, reversing earlier decisions by the Court of Appeal and the High Court, and reaffirming the precedent established in its own previous decision in Lungowe et al v Vedanta Resources plc (2019): www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2018-0068-judgment.pdf
Leigh Day represents the plaintiffs and the background to the case can be found here: www.leighday.co.uk/latest-updates/cases-and-testimonials/cases/shell-ogale-and-bille/.

The UK's development finance institution, CDC, makes investments through Globeleq in companies with portfolios and/or intentions to expand fossil fuel power in Nigeria.

See also: Victory for Niger Delta Farmers - www.eccr.org.uk/blog/victory-for-niger-delta-farmers/