Shell vs Ogale/Bille community: UK Supreme Court don agree to judge di oil spill case
Lawyers wey dey represent 40,000 Nigerian farmers and fisherman from two community inside Niger Delta, don get permission to take dia claim against Shell to di UK Supreme Court for London.
Crude oil spill wey happun for di shores and waters of Bodo, one village inside Ogoniland, wey dey host Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) inside Nigeria Ogale and Bille community dey argue say oil spills wey Shell Nigeria cause for dia community don affect dia lives and hustle. Di communities carry dia case go di UK Court, because say Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), wey dia headquarter dey for London, na im dey legally responsible for di environmental failure from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), wey be subsidiary (part-of) RDS. For February dis year- di Court of Appeal - wey be lower court bin rule say di case no fit continue, base on say dem support one high judgement wey say English courts no get di power to tok on top di claims against Shell Nigeria. Dis new permission now, go come allow di two communities to appeal give di UK supreme court, on top di plenti years of pollution wey dem claim say dem don suffer from Shell pipelines. Di leader of Ogale pipo, His Royal Highness King Godwin Bebe Okpabi, tell BBC tori pesin say im community dey happy to hear dis decision. "We dey very happy and we dey very hopeful say las, las somebody go listen and give us help for all di yama-yama wey Royal Dutch shell don cause for our environment." "Since around 1958 wey Royal Dutch Shell come our community, Ogale inside Ogoni land Rivers state, from dat time up to early 1990, Shell don completely destroy our eco and aqua system." "Dem don scata our environment, pollute our streams, and our soil no longer dey fertile, small pikin dey die anyhow and pipo dey die below 50. " King Emere Godwin Bebe Okpabi say im community no get means of livelihood again because of di oil spill damage and dis na why crime rate dey high and insecurity King Godwin say apart from compensation, dem want Shell to also 'look what level of clean up dem go fit do' plus clean up di land and provide di community wit good drinking water. E add say wit di way tins don damage for di community, dem no go fit go back to di original way di community bin before even afta dem do clean up for di land. For now, e neva dey clear wen di UK Supreme court dey likely to hear dis case. But if dis case dey successful, e fit open di way for oda Nigerian communities wey oil pollution dey affect to hold shell responsible.