Bonga Oil Spill: Group accuses Shell, partners of $1bn insurance claim diversion

Executive Director of Oil Spill Victims Vanguard (OSPIVV), Harrison Jalla, has accused the Shell Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STATSCO) and its partners of diverting $1 cardinal security indemnity contamination assertion intended for victims and communities successful the Niger Delta impacted by the 2011 Bonga Oil Spill.

The allegation was contained successful a suit numbered FHC/WR/CS/19/2022.

In a connection connected Wednesday, Jalla said the alleged $1 cardinal security assertion was meant to compensate communities that suffered terrible contamination during the 2011 Bonga Oil Spill.

He noted that the Bonga Oil Spill which is 1 of the worst biology disasters successful the Niger Delta, occurred during the loading of crude lipid by the vas MT Nothia, owned by STATSCO and Shell Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).

“The security argumentation for the contamination indemnity, with Certificate Number 0492900, was insured for $1 billion.

“However, since 2011, STATSCO, successful collaboration with Britannia Steamship Insurance Association Limited, diverted this compensation without informing Nigerian regulatory authorities oregon the impacted victims,” Jalla said.

He said the affected communities were near retired of the compensation process contempt the wide biology harm caused by the spill.

“The negligence during the loading of MT Nothia resulted successful catastrophic pollution, yet the rightful beneficiaries of the security assertion person been denied justness for implicit a decade.”

The suit against Shell and Britannia Steamship Insurance Association Limited, filed by OSPIVV successful April 2022, seeks to retrieve the diverted security funds for the victims.

The ineligible conflict is expected to beryllium a landmark case, holding planetary lipid companies accountable for their actions successful Nigeria’s oil-rich region.

“The Bonga lipid spill near devastating effects connected the livelihood and situation of the Niger Delta communities. This suit is not conscionable astir compensation, but astir holding these corporations accountable for their actions,” Jalla added.

He said the security assertion successful question had been concealed from cardinal Nigerian agencies, including the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), further complicating efforts to unafraid justness for the victims.