Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan Lauds UK Court's Decision in Ogoni oil spill

 Chief Mr.Emmanuel Uduaghan,(Delta State Governor) on Friday, commended that theBritish High Court, which ordered Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria to pay compensation to Bodo community in Ogoniland of Rivers.

He said that the court's decision was a signal to other oil

 Mr Paul Odili, his Communication Manager, Uduaghan said that the UK, London court's verdict was an indication that justice is gradually being done to the people of the region after decades of neglect and protracted litigation.

He remarked that the situation was so bad for the people of the area that the oil firms even refused to clean up spillage and accept responsibility for their failures.

"For years, spillage have occurred incessantly in the zone, with no one accepting to halt the devastation that gradually eroded the livelihood of the people of the zone, who are mainly farmers and fishermen.

"I welcome the decision of the UK Court in London on the Bodo community petition over the oil spill that occurred in 2008.

''The suit filed by the affected community is a clear indication of the increasing awareness of the people to the harm being done to them and to seek justice through due process instead of violence.in Niger delta "

The Governor disclosed that one of the causes of the Niger Delta crisis was that people of the area were forced into violence because of mass poverty occasioned by wanton degradation of their environment.

He, however, said that "the truth is that despite this victory, the Niger Delta is still an environmental wasteland on account of several oil spills not cleaned up as quickly as it should.

Uduaghan said his interest in environmental issues was to seek ways to urge the international support to take more committed actions to protect the environment.

Uduaghan lauds UK court's decision on Ogoni oil spill on Naija World News.

"I have, as part of steps to determine the harm done to Delta State, appointed a university academic and international consultant, Prof. Richard Steiner, to study and conduct an assessment of the damage in the state from oil and gas exploration and exploitation over the last fifty years.

"The aims of this exercise are to identify the damage caused by five decades of oil and gas development in Delta, advice on remediation strategy and reduce the risk of future damage.