● Awards N81.9bn Damages against MPN, NNPC
An Abuja Federal High Court Judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo on Monday, took a swipe at ExxonMobil affiliate Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN) over the discrepancies in the documents it tendered in the case brought against the United States oil giant and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) following the massive oil spills in Ibeno Community, Akwa Ibom State between 2000 and 2010.
Besides, the judge held that MPN called unreliable witnesses that became evasive during cross examination by counsel to the the oil communities.
Delivering judgment in the case, filed by Obong Effiong Archianga and nine others through their lawyers, Lucius Nwosu SAN, Justice Taiwo awarded the sum of N81.9billion as damages against Mobil and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation for the oil spills that damaged their environment.
The judge ordered the two oil companies to pay the sum to the plaintiffs (oil communities in Ibeno Local Government) in 14 days, or pay eight percent of the sum, per annum.
The visibly angry judge further said that some of the witnesses called by the United States oil major, ought not to have come to the court in the first place going by the discrepancies in the documents they tendered before the court.
Also, the judge held that the oral and documentary evidence produced by Mobil were not in any way helpful to the court in the determination of the matter as they were targeted at serving predetermined interest.
Justice Taiwo also held that the American oil company and the NNPC were negligent in the way they handled oil spills that caused environmental degradation in the communities.
According to Justice Taiwo, the action of Mobil is a clear violation of section 11 of the oil pipeline act that makes it mandatory for the oil companies to monitor and fix defective pipelines.
The plaintiffs, who are mainly farmers and fishermen filed the suit in April 2012 over oil spills in their communities during oil exploration by Mobil between 2000 and 2010. According to them, the spills caused massive damage to their environment and destroyed their means of livelihood.