"Mixed reaction to Shell's oil-spill settlement", 13 Jan 2015

Legalbrief reports that the out-of-court settlement follows a significant legal battle during which residents of the Bodo community in the Niger Delta had demanded restitution for loss of livelihood caused when a broken pipeline spilled tens of thousands of barrels of oil into the creeks and forests contaminating the environment…While the payout is a long-awaited victory for the thousands of people who lost their livelihoods in Bodo, it shouldn't have taken six years to get anything close to fair compensation…[A] report on the allAfrica.com site notes that the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (Homef) said the oil giant's agreement for settlement is an admittance of years of 'ecological crime' in the Niger Delta community. 'When compared to what polluting oil companies pay elsewhere for their ecological crimes, Homef sees the compensation as inadequate for the severity of damage done,'…