Friday 5 August 2011
Shells admission of responsibility for two major oil spills in the Niger Delta region has provoked reactions ranging from jubilation to cynicism. The Bodo fishing community had taken the Anglo-Dutch oil giant to court in the UK, claiming oil pollution has left the environment, and their livelihood, in ruins.
By Emmanuel Mayah, Lagos
Previously Shell has always maintained that oil spills in the Niger Delta were largely caused by sabotage by crude oil thieves and pipeline vandals. However the company finally admitted that two devastating spills in 2008 and 2009 were a result of equipment failure.