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Article

13 Sep 2013

Author:
John Vidal, Guardian (UK)

Niger delta oil spill victims reject 'derisory' Shell compensation offer

Niger delta communities devastated by giant oil spills from rusting Shell pipelines have unanimously rejected a compensation offer from the company, calling it an insult, and cruel and derisory. A court in London is now likely to decide how much the…firm should pay 11,000 fishermen and others from the Bodo community who lost their livelihoods when the 50-year-old Shell-operated trans-Niger pipeline burst twice within a few months in 2008…Martyn Day, a partner with…Leigh Day who represented the those communities, said Shell's offer was rejected unanimously at a large public meeting in Bodo…A [Shell] spokesman said: "We took part in this week's settlement negotiations with two objectives – to make a generous offer of compensation to those who have suffered hardship as a result of the two highly regrettable operational spills in 2008, and to make progress in relation to cleanup."

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