"Ogoni clean-up: Rivers community sues Kachikwu, Baru, Shell over exclusion", 16 Oct 2017

Elders of Bolo communities in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area of Rivers State, have dragged the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu; Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd., before a Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging fraud in the ongoing Ogoni oil spill clean-up. The communities, in the suit, told the court that compensation that ought to be given to them following two massive oil spills that occurred in their area between 2008 and 2009, was diverted. While Kachikwu, Baru and Shell are first, third and seventh defendants, respectively, other defendants in the matter are the Minister of Environment, the Chairman and members of the Board of Trustees of Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, Chairman and members of Governing Council of HYPREP and the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Dr. Marvin Dekil. They said the spills were from the 24-inch Trans-Niger Pipeline, owned by Shell, the seventh defendant. They are also demanding N5 billion as general damages against the seventh defendant for misrepresentation and attempt to erode the dignity and deprive the plaintiffs of their constitutional rights under the 1999 Constitution, as amended.