The Artisanal Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN), Bayelsa chapter, has commended the Federal Government for seeking legal redress over the January 2011 oil spill at Bonga Oilfields.
The government, through the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), instituted the suit in May 2016 against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, operators of the oilfield.
The matter which is at the Federal High Court, Abuja, took that dimension after Shell failed to honour a demand by NOSDRA to pay 3.96 billion dollars (about N1.13 trillion) compensation for the spill.
The Director, Oilfields Assessment of NOSDRA, Dr Idris Musa, had said that over 40,000 barrels of oil spilled into the Atlantic Ocean and had polluted the waters, compelling fishermen to suspend fishing.