A Non-governmental Organization, Oil Spill Victims Initiative (OSPIVV) on Friday says it was set to sue the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to court on behalf of the people and communities in the Niger Delta region, over the recently discovered 4 kilometers illegal forcados pipeline used to steal crude oil since 2003.
Prince Harrison Jalla, the executive director of OSPIVV, made this known to journalists in Warri during a press briefing held at Sylvalink Hotel, Warri, Delta State.
Jalla said the move was to take both Shell and NNPCL to a proper court of competent jurisdiction where they will tell Nigerians what has been happening in the truck lines.
He noted that they were taking rhe duo to court to also recover all funds related to the illegal four-kilometer secret crude oil pipeline that had been used illegally to steal crude oil from Nigeria since 2003.
Jalla said they want to prove to the whole world that SPDC, NNPCL, and other International Oil Companies (IOCs) were responsible for the extensive oil theft that has been going on in the Niger Delta region over the years.
We can now see there is a massive approach to stealing crude in the Niger Delta region. So we are going to court.
He accused the two organisations of being in the know about the massive oil theft that has been going on since 2003, adding that with the court action people will now know that there has always been massive stealing of crude oil in the region by IOCs and others.
“We will take on the NNPCL and SPDC. We have already briefed our external solicitors to file action. So many IOCs will be called on account for this heist, but we want to start with the Shell Group because there is no way crude oil could be piped from those terminals without the involvement of those running the terminal.
“Our interest is to unravel what has been happening in the oil sector, so whether they claim it or not at Forcados Terminal is not our business,” Jalla said.
Mr Hosanna Jalogho-Williams, a consultant in environmental law, who also spoke during the press briefing, said the group was also concerned about the environmental depredation killing of the aquatic life in the regions creeks.
He said the activities of crude oil thieves has destroyed the livelihood of the people of the Niger Delta region whose occupation is fishing and farming.
“The Ecological effect of stealing of our crude oil has affected the productive nature of fishes in the sea,” Jalogho-Williams said.
