For decades, residents of Aggah community in Rivers State, Nigeria say they have lived with a nightmare that returns every rainy season, a devastating flood they blame on oil infrastructure built in their community.
After losing a legal battle in an Italian court, affected residents are taking their fight for justice to the appeal court.
The residents whose livelihoods depend on farming and fishing say the annual floods are not only a natural disaster but also a man-made crisis linked to oil operations that have altered the community’s natural waterways for more than fifty years.
Community groups and Environmental activists have now appealed a ruling by a court in Milan, Italy, which dismissed the claims of the residents against Italian oil giant Eni and Oando Energy Resources Nigeria Limited, formerly known as NAOC.
The lawsuit argued that oil field embankments and access roads constructed decades ago obstruct natural water channels, worsening flooding across the community.
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Although the court acknowledged that drainage channels were constructed under a 2019 settlement agreement, the claimants insist the measures have failed to solve the flooding problem.
They also criticize the court’s decision ordering them to pay more than 180,000 euros in legal costs.
This virtual engagement organised by Renevelyn Development Initiative is designed to draw the government’s attention to the plight of residents of the Aggah community even as they remain committed to pursuing justice for the people.
The residents are hopeful that their appeal will lead to a permanent solution to the flooding and a chance to rebuild their lives repeatedly disrupted by rising waters.
Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie
