BASED on the recent United Nations report on environmental degradation in Ogoniland, Rivers State, the people of Ogale, in Eleme Local Government are asking a US court to order Shell to pay them$1 billion in damages.The recompense will be for several years of environmental pollution, alleged gross negligence and deliberate emotional distress, among others.Besides, they demand a US jury trial,in a 33-page suit against Shell, detailing claims and proofsof alleged degradation caused by oil exploration in their community since 1958 that Shell has been exploring for oil in the area.The case, which was filed on Tuesday, October 18 in a US District Court in Detroit, was firstassigned to Judge Bernard Friedman, the same judge who initially handled the human rights case brought against former military Head of State, General Abdusalami Abubakar, about 10 years ago.However, on Thursday afternoon, Judge Friedman decided to disqualifyhimself from the case without any explanation why. The case was thenre-assigned, by a blind draw, to US District Judge, George Caram Steeh.Filed by US-based Nigerian lawyer, Kayode Oladele, the suit's foundation in law is resting on the US Alien Tort and Oil Pollution acts. (Oladele also said Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, would be coordinatingthe Nigerian end of the case from Lagos.)Earlier last week, the US Supreme Court said it would hear another case brought against Shell by Ogonis, on the culpability of a US firm in alleged complicity in human rights violations abroad.In that specific case, a US Appeal Court had ruled that a case could not be brought in the US against Shell for alleged violations abroad, but another US Appeal Court, in a different case, viewed a similar question otherwise.According to the suit filed by Oladele last week against Royal Dutch Shell and Shell Nigeria, the Eleme people are asking for an 'award of payment of economic and compensatory damages in the sum of $1 billion 'for over 50 years of pollution, environmental degradation and damages to the community land and losses suffered by the plaintiffs' community.'The plaintiffs are suing for gross negligence, nuisance, and deliberate infliction of emotional distress, cruel inhuman treatment, among other causes of action against Shell.Arguing that many of the plaintiffs' families have no livelihood left after the pollution, the suit is also demanding an order that Royal Dutch Shell and their Nigerian counterpart:' Ensure that all contaminated drinking water wells in Ogale Community are destroyed forthwith.' Provide adequate sources of drinking water to the people of Ogale Community in Eleme Local Government in Rivers State on daily basis forthwith.' Ensure that the people of Ogale Community in Eleme Local Government in Rivers State are medically examined to assess the effect of the contaminated water already consumed by them forthwith.They are also asking for the 'immediate cleaning-up operations of the pollution,' and that the defendant be responsible for the 'reasonable attorney fees and the cost of this litigation.'In their submission, the plaintiffs quoted the Nigerian government, Amnesty International and theUnited Nations to support the claims of environmental pollution and degradation in the area like in the broad Niger Delta region of Nigeria.For instance, the case said the Nsisioken Ogale Community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State is one of the oil producing communities around Ogoniland and was covered by the UN Environmental Programme, UNEP's recent report on Niger Delta oil pollution study commissioned by both the UN and the Nigerian.According to the suit: 'The environmental assessment carried out by the UNEP confirmed the pollution of the soil by petroleum hydrocarbons and contamination of drinking water wells in Nsisioken Ogale Community in Eleme Local Government, Rivers State.'The suit shows that the UN report indicted Shell 'as the people of the Ogale Community have been drinking water contaminated with benzene at level 900 times above the World Health Organization Guideline.'Quoting directly from the UNEP Report, the suit noted that specifically it was stated in the report that: 'The most serious case of groundwater contamination is at Nsisioken Ogale in Eleme Local Government Area close to a Nigerian National Petroleum Company product pipeline where an8cmlayer of refined oil was observed floating on the ground, which serves the community wells.'Further more, the suit observes that Shell, in itsoperations in Nigeria, 'are well below internationally recognized standards to prevent and control pipeline oil spills. The defendants have not employed the best available technology and practices that they use elsewhere in the world.'At the trial, Oladelesaid his client'will rely on the Final Report and the Executive Summary of UNEP findings on the Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland.'But no date has been fixed yet forcommencement of trail proceedings.
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