The Ikebiri community in Bayelsa State has dragged the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, to an Italian court over a 2010 oil spill that they said destroyed their livelihoods, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt. The community, comprising several mostly fishing villages, said the oil company offered a N4.5 million compensation for the spill, a minute fraction of the €2 million it is demanding. Joined as respondents in the suit, filed on May 4 in Milan, Italy, are NAOC and its parent firm, ENI. Mr. Ojo said immediately after the 2010 oil spill, the Ikebiri community engaged in discussions with NAOC and ENI for emergency relief materials and compensation. Mr. Ojo, whose organization's in-house lawyer is on the legal team of the Ikebiri community, said the court case would compel the oil company to clean up the spill in the community as well as pay the €2 million compensation.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 10, 2017 08:03 UTC