this isn't new , been happening for years and has been reported , but since it is happening in Africa, in a country where the leaders of the country are only concerned in enriching them selves vs looking out for those they control, wouldn't call it rule.., rule means one has concerns for and here there are no concerns..
If this was happening in any western country, the up roar and condemnation would be front page news, here , page 63 and holding..but at least the attention is now being brought forward a bit, whether it gets a clean up or just more $ in the pockets of strongmen to enrich and make go away will be interesting to see.
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english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/20118443757118175.html---------------------------------
[click on link to read article]
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Africa
Shell faces first Nigeria spill claims in UK
British court rules that Bodo community can seek compensation from Dutch oil giant after oil spills devastate area.
04 Aug 2011 05:49
The oil spills in 2008 and 2009 destroyed parts of the Niger Delta wetlands [EPA]
A British court has ruled that a Nigerian community devastated by oil spills can claim compensation in the UK from the energy giant Shell.
Royal Dutch Shell has already accepted responsibility and promised to pay some form of compensation for the spills, which took place in 2008 and 2009, destroying parts of the Bodo fishing communities in the Ogoniland region of the Niger Delta wetlands.
But Wednesday's decision could open the company up to larger claims.
Shell said it does not comment on the legal process, which could take several months to reach a conclusion.
"SPDC (Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria) has always acknowledged that the two spills which affected the Bodo community, and which are the subject of this legal action, were operational," a statement from Shell said.
"SPDC is committed to cleaning up all spills when they occur, no matter what the cause."
Leigh Day & Co, the lawyers representing the Bodo communities, who live in the snaking, oil-rich creeks and
waterways, said the case was the first of its kind because it would be handled under British jurisdiction.
"SPDC has agreed to formally accept liability and concede to the jurisdiction of the UK," a statement on the law firm's website said.
"This is one of the most devastating oil spills the world has ever seen and yet it had gone almost unnoticed until we received instructions to bring about a claim against Shell in this country."
Decades of damage
Protest groups have increasingly tried to seek compensation against western oil companies in the firms' home jurisdictions, where they get wider media coverage and usually larger payouts.
The spills follow decades of damage to the environment in Nigeria, according to rights groups"
