Victims of the 2011 Bonga oil spill under the Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria (AFRAN), Niger Delta Chapter have asked Shell Petroleum and Development Company (SPDC) to pay them the sum of $3.4billion as imposed by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency.
This was demanded on Sunday, in a communique signed by Chairman, AFRAN Niger Delta Chapter, Pastor Samuel Ayadi and three others and issued at the end of their New Year review and agenda-setting meeting in Port Harcourt.
According to the communique, the Bonga oil spill led to untold hardship and untimely death of many of its members as a result of the attitude of Shell towards the victims.
It read, “The Shell Bonga Oil Spill of 20th December 2011 and the consequent stay away order made by NOSDRA to save the lives of Nigerians, especially the fishermen has foisted great hardship on the fishermen plying their livelihoods sustenance trade on the coastal waters. This hardship which has led to the untimely death of many of the members of the Association, is as a result of the attitude of Shell towards the victims.
“That Shell never empathised with the victims even during the height of the spill impacts even when it had been determined through a Post Impact Assessment that the spill was as a result of operational failures and an estimated 40,000 barrels of crude oil had been pumped into the waters – operational fields of the fishermen/women.”
They insisted that the $3.4billion fine and awards were upheld by the Federal High Court and the National Assembly through its Committee on Environment and urged Shell to pay the fine awarded against it.
“We demand on behalf of all the victims of the Shell (SNEPCO) Bonga Oil Spill, which is rated globally as one of the most devastating, that Shell pay immediately the fines/awards of $3.4billion imposed on it by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) which fines/awards were upheld both by the National Assembly through the House Committee on Environment and a competent court of the land –the Federal High Court in Lagos.
“We demand that should Shell want to appeal against the judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos, they should show good faith by first lodging the judgment sum with the Registry of the Federal High Court,” the communique added.
