After 5 years of what can be described to be the worse ever Oil spill in the histroy of Nigeria as a crude oil producing nation, that affected 15,000 fishermen and 31,000 inhabitants of 35 villages in and around the Bodo lagoon and its associated waterways, the Royal Dutch oil company(Shell) has began having talks with the representatives for the Bodo community on compensation and cleanup plans/conditions which would help in overseeing this project. The oill spill's (there were two oil spills) that started in 2008, led to the largest ever recorded loss of a mangrove habitat which was ever
to have been caused by an oil spill, and it also affected about 30,000 people in the Niger Delta
area since that time according to a London based law firm "Leigh Day."
The news of this developnment can be said to be a very welcoming news, as since the occourance of the oil spill in 2008, life for this people as been hell as they have had to live on creek of oil. According to lawyer Daniel Leader of Leigh Day that is
representing about 15,000 people from the community that filed a lawsuit
in 2012, stepping out of the doors of this people's house, first thing on your sight is oil, when breating in you breath in oil and toxic fumes. The talks which began on Monday the 9th of September, 2013, is not expected to go any easy on both side as their is still a large dispute over the quantity of oil that spilled into the area which Shell claims to be around 4000+ and the amount on compesation which Shell is offering $20million with Leigh Day and her clients sueing for $200million.
To read more on this story, please visit the links below. Thank you
http://www.ibtimes.com/five-years-after-devastating-oil-spills-nigeria-shell-may-finally-cough-millions-1404212
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/shell-negotiate-nigerians-oil-spill-20197246
http://leadership.ng/news/110913/tackling-environmental-challenges-oil-pollution-nigeria
K.M-J
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