Article
[audio] Today programme [interview with Martyn Day & Mutiu Sunmonu re Nigeria oil spill litigation, starts on min. 52.20]
[Transcript]:…Solicitors representing people from the Bodo community in Nigeria are claiming compensation from Shell over oil spills which they say have had a terrible effect on their lives…Martyn Day [solicitor representing the plaintiffs]: “...[O]ver 2008 this was a thriving fishing community of about 50,000 people…Two oil spills...which Shell recognized was their responsibility…which…devastated that community…as a result…people’s livelihoods have gone…[A]fter sitting around a table with Shell for 4 years…we have not been able to reach a resolution…Shell refused to acknowledge...the scale of what happened…”...Mutiu Sunmonu [managing director of Shell in Nigeria]:”…Shell has admitted that the two spills that happened in 2008 were as a result of operation error and we did everything that was possible to make sure we pay compensation to the affected communities…However, due to all sort of issues…this compensation has actually been delayed…We need to make sure that the compensation is paid to the right people.”